Woman
by keem
Summary: The big question: Knuckles or Sonic? Now that all the cards are down on the table, Amy Rose must find it in herself to choose...
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: It's been a long time since I've dabbled in the affairs of hedgehogs and echidnas.. so bare with me.  
  
Everything in this universe is post Sonic Adventure, as it's the most recent Sonic game I've kept up with beside the Advance games (and the Advance games don't really fit for this story). Joy!  
  
Yes, I do enjoy pairings of individuals who wouldn't usually be slapped together. Call it a peverse pleasure of mine, but cannon pairings are just so drab ; Also, keep in mind, in order to have the pairing as is, I had to tweak some of the character's personalities a bit. Yes, Amy Rose is quite darling, true, but I don't think this devious plot device could have ever worked to hook her up with another character if she had been her usual childlike self. 3  
  
Yeah, there's a lot of spelling errors, and I think my italicize HTML markup wont work. Forgive me on both accounts; I'm lazy, and had originally corrected all of this, only to realize I forgot to save. FOILED AGAIN.  
  
With that said, please read, enjoy, and review. Commentary, whether good or bad, is very much appreciated.  
  
-keem_

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**WOMAN**  
  
_"Helplessly melting as I stand next to the sun,  
As she burns me, I am screaming out for more,  
Drink every drop of liquid heat that I've become,  
Pop me open, spoon me out on to the floor.  
  
Leavin' your smell on my coat,   
Leavin' your taste on my shoulder,  
I still fail to understand,   
(Fail to understand)  
Leavin' your smell on my coat,   
Leavin' your taste on my shoulder,  
I still fail to understand what it is about this woman."_  
  
- Maroon 5"SONIC!"  
  
The blue hedgehog in question looked up from his magazine just in time to see a bubblegum pink and red swirl shadow loom ominiously over him. One feminine hand lashed out, nearly as fast as her 'boyfriend's' namesake, and wrenched his entertainment right out of his hands. His own face, emblazoned on the cover of _People's _Magazine, smiled back at him, almost leering.  
  
"Ammmmy!"   
  
"I've been looking for you _all _day, mister celebrity," Amy Rose responded scathingly, waving the magazine above his head while Sonic launched himself out of his lawnchair in an attempt to retrieve it. Like a practiced bullfighter she dodged, and the hero of Station Square nearly catapulted into the pool behind her.  
  
"Aww geez," Sonic said, screeching to a halt and whipping around. "What do you want?"  
  
"Have you forgotten already?" Amy Rose huffed, tossing the magazine aside. Sonic zipped after it, suddenly winding up behind her. She turned around, annoyance evident on her face.   
  
"Forgotten what?" Sonic said, more to his own lifelike image on the front of _People's _then to Amy herself. He flopped back onto his chair, quickly flipping through the pages until he had found his spot again - presumably to an article about himself.  
  
"Why I oughta--"  
  
"Listen, Amy," Sonic said, reaching blindly to the little makeshift table beside him and closing his fingers around a lemonade. He brought the beverage to his lips, the little umbrella settled in it batting him in the eye. He grimaced and flicked it away. "I really don't have time for this, I'm on a very hard-earned vacation and I--"  
  
"YOU STILL OWE ME A DATE AT TWINKLE PARK!" the little pink hedgehog bellowed suddenly, in such a loud voice that surely anyone within a twenty-mile radius could have heard. A dead silence followed the words; even the seagulls at the nearby beach had stopped their insistent sqwacking.  
  
Sonic blinked and went to smooth out his quills, which were still standing on end from the other hedgehog's sudden outburst. At some point in time his reading material had fluttered to the ground, and remained there, momentairly abandoned. "Well, uh, uh, I..."  
  
"You really _did _forget, didn't you?" Amy said, aghast. Her little form trembled, whether with rage of disbelief, the blue blur was afraid to guess. "Sonic, I can't believe you! How could you forget? You've only been promising me every day since--"  
  
"Oh yeah," Sonic murmured, deliberating not meeting the younger girl's eyes. "I have, haven't I?"  
  
Amy Rose seemed content on just seething for a while, but her love interest's refusal to look at her caused sudden realization to don. "You little cretin!" she snarled, "You were avoiding me on _purpose,_ weren't you?"  
  
"Now, Amy, I--" Sonic started, looking around uneasily. Several people were watching them from the balconies of their hotel rooms, as well as from the lobby and over the fence that seperated the pool from the beach. "Err... I..." he jumped to his feet suddenly, scratching his head. "Hey! I just forgot something.. Tails wanted me to visit him at his Workshop this morning... uhh..." He looked to her hurriedly, feigning a sorry attempt at an apologetic look. "Uhm, sorry, Amy, I hate to leave you hanging but.." his feet revved up as she started to loudly protest, "I GOTTA JET!"  
  
And he was gone."Oh, that Sonic!" Amy Rose fumed, glaring down at his face from the magazine he had left in his sudden hurry to get away from her. Her hands that held it were clenched so tight they ached. "He has some nerve, leading me on like that!"  
  
Her outward rage was a way of easily masking how much she was hurting. Ever since Perfect Chaos had been defeated, she had been trying really hard to back down and give Sonic some space. Sure, she had still been around him a great a deal, but she had done her best to keep her obsession at bay. She tried to seem more nonchalant and less demanding, but still leaving subtle hints that she was interested hidden therein. With some time, she had figured, she could gently reel him in, or better yet, have him come to her.   
  
The change had put Sonic at a noticeable ease, and Amy, for a while, had felt a surge of hope. Eventually, she even managed to get him to agree to continue where they left off at Twinkle Park, where their first date had been interrupted by Zero.  
  
Zero, that horrible monster... had actually turned out to be be good for something after all. Taking him apart and freeing birdie, she reminded herself, had been the one element that had sparked this idea of change in the first place.   
  
But now look what that hedgehog had done! Amy Rose had promised herself that she was going to be more independent, but with Sonic's sudden moodswing, she felt just as dependent and as lovesick as she did before. After all this, after all she had tried so hard to accomplish, she was back at square one.  
  
"I swear, the next time I see him, I'm going to..." she crumpled the magazine in her fist, listening to the satsifying crunch of mashed papers. She was just about to toss the mangled bundle into the trashcan when the ice cream parlor caught her eye invitingly.  
  
Ah, nothing soothed a broken heart quite like sweets, after all.  
  
"Why not?" she mumbled to no one in particular. Abandoning her only reference to Sonic as previously intended, she stepped inside. A jingle of chimes signaled her arrival.  
  
"Well hello there Amy!" came the ever-cheerful voice of the shopkeep from behind the counter. "I haven't seen you in a while."  
  
"I've been on a diet," Amy Rose responded as she peered through the looking glass to view the potential ice cream flavors and their enticing combinations. What she said was a bit of a half-truth - true, she had been _trying_ to suceed with a diet, but she had often sneaked in a few chocolates and cookies here and there. She couldn't help herself; they were just too delicious to resist!  
  
"I'd like a cone with one scoop of cookie dough, please," she said, indicating the flavor on the panel as she ordered it. The shopkeeper smiled, made the cone as requested, and handed it to her in exchange for a small fee. She took the cone, said thank you, and walked down to the few tables and booths that littered the parlor, doing her best not to think about Sonic.  
  
The shop was unusually quiet this time in the afternoon. Every table and booth were vacant and sparkling clean, as if they hadn't seen use for several days now. Usually, Amy would have pondered the fact, but her mind was too preoccupied. Well, at least she could have her choice at a window seat...  
  
She glanced around once more, only to realize all the tables weren't completely barren after all. That is, they all were, except one, which was taken by a rather familiar looking individudal..  
  
_Knuckles?_ she wondered curiously, and took a few steps closer to get a better look. Upon closer inspection, she deducted that it really was the brooding echidna, who seemed quite involved at the moment at doing nothing except staring down at some kind of speckled melted concotion.  
  
Amy had never really gotten to know Knuckles very well; she had seen him a few times, maybe exchanged a word or two, and could identify him by name. But other then that, the only thing they shared was a common association. However, even with her limited knowledge, she knew for a fact that he was the Guardian of the Floating Island, and couldn't help but wonder what, percisely, he was doing so far away from his homeland after it had risen back to its former glory in the sky.  
  
_ Well,_ she figured with a shrug, _I guess I'm about to find out_.  
  
"Hi there," she offered a little awkwardly, switching her cone between hands and taking a quick lick. "Mind if I sit?"  
  
The guardian looked up, startled, dropping the spoon he had been stirring in his ice cream cup. "What?" he asked gruffly, and then seeing her arched eyebrow, his features smoothed over. "...Amy?" he asked, finally, fumbling for her name.  
  
"Hi Knuckles," she said, taking another lick. If she didn't eat this thing soon, it was going to melt all over her hand. With that in mind, she took another lap. "Can I sit?"  
  
"Err..." he looked at her blankly, then shook his head. "Oh, yeah, sure."   
  
She giggled a little and sat down across from him. From the little she knew, she knew Knuckles wasn't very talkative. "What's up?"  
  
He stared at her, as if she was speaking in some alien language he was unable to translate. "What?"   
  
"What're you doing so far away from home?" She said, opting for a different start. At least this one was a no-brainer.  
  
"I'm... taking a vacation," Knuckles said, saying the words slowly and percisely, as if pointing out that, yes, she wasn't the only one who thought that was strange.  
  
"Who's handling the situation up north?" she asked, licking away at her cone.  
  
"I've got it covered," Knuckles responded shortly, clearly hiding some secrets.   
  
"Oh," was all Amy said. An uncomfortable silence drifted between them while the pink hedgehog desperately wracked her brain for some kind of topic to get the flow started again.  
  
"So..." she tried again, "where are you staying?"  
  
It took him a moment to conjure up an answer. He was watching her carefully with intent violet eyes, as if looking for some indication of her plotting against him. "The Emerald Coast Hotel," he said slowly, almost painfully. "They're giving me free room and board for.."  
  
"Saving the world?" she offered.  
  
"Having a hand in it," he admitted, allowing a half-smile. It quickly faded back into his suspicious expression. "Listen Amy, I don't mean to be rude, but, what's the deal?"  
  
"Deal?" Amy Rose asked, geniunely startled. A big slop of of a side of her icecream she neglected to lick was sent splashing into her lap. She reached for a napkin in the little dispenser between them.  
  
"Why are you talking to me?" Knuckles asked bluntly.  
  
Amy was torn between wondering whether she should be insulted or confused. "What do you mean?"   
  
"You heard me," Knuckles said, with narrowed eyes now. "What's the deal?"  
  
Amy Rose felt herself get red in the cheeks. "I'm just making conversation!"  
  
Knuckles didn't seem convinced. "With me?" he asked incrediously.  
  
"Yes, with you," Amy snapped, wiping vigoriously at the little wet spot on her favorite red dress. "Is there a problem?"  
  
"Listen, Amy, I don't know what you're trying to pull here," Knuckles said, his own annoyance seeming to grow with his inability to be convinced by simple words alone. "Is Sonic around here or something? Is this his kind of an idea for a joke?"  
  
"Oh come on, Knuckles," Amy said. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! I don't even know where Sonic is."  
  
"Oh," at this, Knuckles visibly relaxed, slumping back into his seat. "Alright then." He spooned some of his soupy ice cream into his mouth. "As you were saying?"  
  
Amy collapsed against her own seat, though the redness that tinged her face did not fade. The arguement was not something she could let roll off of her, especially since it brought her back to Sonic.  
  
Knuckles seemed to only feed the fire. "So," he said with a bit of a wry grin that only aggrivated her, "So no idea where Sonic is, hmm? That's got to be a bit of a first. It seemed to me that you two were attatched at the hip or something. His little pink shadow."  
  
"Are you insinuating I'm a tag-a-long nuisance?" Amy scowled, throwing her balled up napkin down on the table and taking a huge chunk out of her cone with her teeth.  
  
"You said it, not me," Knuckles said casually, with another spoonful sent into that stupid gaping hole of a mouth of his.   
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Let me guess. A lover's quarrel?" he seemed highly entertained by the prospect.  
  
_I wish,_ was what she thought, but what came out of her mouth was, "For your information, me and Sonic are inot/i an item."  
  
"But you wish you were," Knuckles said, and for a brief moment, Amy wondered if he could read minds. "Lemme guess; he stood you up?"  
  
"Well, sorta, but--"  
  
"I'm pretty good at this," he complimented out loud, looking amused. Turning his attention back to her, he smirked. "So, Sonic's a flake, and you're angry."  
  
"Yeah, but--"  
  
"No, no, now that've you got me talking, follow my train of thought." Knuckles put one large gloved fist on the table. "Might I suggest... revenge?"  
  
"Revenge?" Amy snorted.  
  
"Tell me if this sounds good," Knuckles said, holding up his hand to keep her quiet. "Picture this: you get a boyfriend other then Sonic. Sonic gets jealous over time. You are seemingly happy with boyfriend. Sonic finally realizes what a moron is and asks to go out with you. You decline, and keep with boyfriend. Sonic proceeds to ask again, and again. Finally, you agree, and ditch former boyfriend to be with Sonic. Then you live disgustingly happily ever after with the ugly hog."  
  
"How.. devious." Amy said lamely. She arched an eyebrow. "Hey, since when do _you _know anything about relationships?"  
  
"I don't," Knuckles admitted. "But I've been getting free satelite in my hotel room and I've been watching a lot of... uhm.. what's the term? ... Suds?"  
  
"Soaps?" Amy tried to help.  
  
"Yeah, those." Knuckles removed his hand and settled back down into his seat. The silence once again reigned.  
  
"So that's it?" Amy asked finally, and Knuckles just looked up at her, almost boredly. "After that entire performance and that's it? That's the most I've ever heard from you in one sitting and I don't get an encore?"  
  
"It's the most I've ever said to_ anybody_ in one sitting," Knuckles said earnestly. For a moment, Amy was afraid that was all she was going to get out of him, but then he continued. "I just.. don't get the chance to talk to people much, out there on the Floating Island."  
  
"Well, then maybe you should come down here more often." Amy said, smiling.  
  
Knuckles glanced up, and suddenly looked very embarassed. After a moment, he cleared his throat and shook his head. ".. Err, Amy, I'm gonna get going."  
  
"Oh?" the teenage tried to conceal her dissapointment.  
  
"Yeah. I'm going to... head out to Casinopolis for a bit, and then check back into my hotel."   
  
"I didn't know you were a gambler," Amy said, as the two of them stood.  
  
"Yeah well, I don't, but I'm about to start," he gave her that same wry grin from earlier when he was teasing her. "Well, okay then..." the two of them stood there awkwardly, as he swung his arms back and forth. "I'll be seeing you then, alright?" he opted for finally, tossing his cup and spoon into the trash and starting to walk away from her. He stopped suddenly, and pivoted on one heel. "Oh, and uh, thanks for the company."  
  
"No problem," Amy said, waving as he exitted the shop, this time not turning back. She trashed the remnants of her own ice cream and started for the door.  
  
"Decent fellow, don't you think?" the shopkeeper said fondly, and Amy jumped, forgetting he was there. "Real quiet though. He's been here every day this week, and he's only said a handful of words before tonight."  
  
"Really?" Amy asked distractedly. Outside, the world was darkening. How long had they been talking? "Well.. umm.. I'll be seeing you later, okay?"  
  
"Goodnight, Amy!" the shopkeeper called after her as she stepped outside.Amy lounged on her bed inside of her cramped bedroom, befitting for an equally small apartment. On her bedside table her phone and answering machine beeped invitingly, signaling that she had missed someone when she had been out and about.  
  
Ever since she had gotten home, she had ignored it. Naturally, she hoped and prayed it was from Sonic, but she was too afraid to actually check it, in fear that her hopes would be shattered. She didn't know how much more of a beating her heart could take, after today.  
  
So instead, she busied herself with her journal, her stereo blasting pop music at max volume. She lied on her stomach scribbling pictures of hearts around her and Sonic's name, swinging her bare feet back and forth to the beat to some group's latest hit signal on FM radio.   
  
She wished she had some kind of love potion or something, the kind of stuff she always read about, to put Sonic under her spell. Sure, it wouldn't be geniune love, but she figured she could settle with something faked. At least it would _look _real.. and seem real... and taste real..   
  
_ 'I am a pathetic love-sick puppy'_ She wrote in pink pen, and to illustrate the point, drew a rendition of said animal beneath with broken hearts around it. Hmm.  
  
She sighed and snapped the book shut, shoving it aside and putting her pen down. She rolled onto her back, staring up at her ceiling fan, which was whizzing softly, inaudible against the blaring music. She fumbled for the remote above her head, somewhere on her pillows, and turned the sound off altogether.  
  
Beside her, the machine beeped.  
  
_ Should I?_ Amy wondered. Her hand reached out to hit the 'accept' button, and then she hesitated. _Oh come on..._ she snorted, and hit the button.  
  
"Amy!" came a distinctively female voice, and the pink hedgehog's heart plummeted into her stomach. She suddenly felt very, very sick. "I heard what that dog Sonic did to you! Hey, do me a favor and when you get home, give me a call! Kthx loveyabye!" The last part was slurred in hurriedly before the message ended.  
  
Amy slumped onto her back, letting a deep sigh emit. She couldn't help but feeling dissapointed. _Please. What did you expect?   
_  
"Amy, girl, you've really got to pull it together!" she said, hoping that speaking it out loud would reinforce it with some avail. It didn't.  
  
"You can't get all hung up on Sonic like this!" she said again, in another attempt to convince herself. "Knuckles was right!"  
  
_Well, Knuckles didn't_ exactly _say that...  
_  
"I've got to find some way to convince Sonic to date me," she accidentally let slip, and then covered her mouth, feeling stupid because she knew no one could hear. "Aww, geez," she grabbed a pillow and shoved her face against it, only to realize she was quoting her beloved blue blur. "GOSH!" she said, throwing that same pillow aside. It hit a lamp, but fortunately, did not break it. "There is something wrong with me!"  
  
She rolled around restlessly atop her pink covers, extremely irritable. "I can't believe I'm narrating to myself out loud!"   
  
_I'm just so lonely..._  
  
"I really need to get a grip on this situation..." she mumbled, sitting up, her quills in a dissaray around her face. She shoved some of it away, swinging over the edge of her bed and standing. She staggered over to her vanity mirror and peered into it. A pretty young hedgehog stared back at her.  
  
"What does he see?" she wondered. "I see an attractive person. But he..."  
  
_ Maybe he sees an attractive person too. Maybe he's just scared.. or stubborn.. or he has too much pride..._  
  
"How can I convince him.. that I'm worth the effort?" she implored her reflection. It implored right back at her-- and then she was struck with a brilliant idea.   
  
She immediately padded over to her closet, where she proceeded to dig for some shoes.  
  
Funny, maybe Knuckles had been onto something, after all."Hey there Amy," the girl at the receptionist's desk in the lobby perked up immediately at the sight of the pink hedgehog. "What're you doing here at this time of night?"  
  
"Uh, visiting a friend." Oh, for God's sake, did everyone in Station Square know who she was? She was a girl on a mission, darn it, and she did _not_ have the time for pleasantries. "Listen, can you give me the room and floor number for a Knuckles t. Echidna?"  
  
"Oh, Knuckles?" The receptionist smiled. "Let's see.." she tapped into the computer momentairly, then looked up. "He's on floor two, room 407A. He's at the end of the hall with a suite." Amy was just about to go, when the woman continued to speak. "Not here for Sonic, tonight?" she winked.  
  
"Screw Sonic," Amy said, surprising herself. The receptionist looked equally startled. She suddenly really, really liked the sound of that. "From now on, he can find _me_." And with that, she stomped off to the elevators.A doorbell chime at the door woke him.  
  
"Huh?" Knuckles said, jerked out of slumber. Blinking tiredly, he slowly get to his knees, then his feet, and staggered over to the door. "I didn't order room service..."  
  
Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he wondered what time it was. Man, maybe he shouldn't have drank so much of that amber liquid back at the casino.. but man, it had been addicting...  
  
He grappled for the doorknob, having a bit of a hard time with it. He shook his head a few times, attempting to clear his head, and everything gratifyingly spirraled into a more percise picture. This time he successfully grabbed ahold of the door knob, twisted it, and opened it.  
  
Amy Rose smiled brightly back at him from the other side.  
  
Startled, Knuckles took a step back, and the world was slow to follow. "Err.. Aime? Izzat yu?" he slurred.  
  
"Hey Knuckles," she said cheerfully. "Want to go out with me?"  
  
**END CHAPTER ONE.**

_A/N: review please._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you all for such a positive response the last chapter. Because of it, I've been unusually motivated to do a second chapter, and here it is.  
  
Like the last chapter, I need reviews (read: goading) to continue this story. Positive response, constructive commentary, and flames (yes, even flames), are always welcome.  
  
Enjoy._  
  
**WOMAN**  
  
_Chapter 2_  
  
Suddenly, Knuckles felt very, very sober.  
  
"What?" he asked, reeling backwards into his temporary living quarters. To his horror, Amy Rose's smile did not falter, and she stepped in after him. "What?!"  
  
She giggled and pushed the door shut behind them, causing his nerves to jump erratically. He wasn't sure what his course of action should be - shove her and tell her to get the heck out of his room, or make a quick suicidal dive out of the window before she could properly react.  
  
"Oh come on Knuckles, don't give me that look," she scolded good-naturedly. The scarlet guardian's eyes flickered back and forth, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. "You're the one who suggested it, after all."  
  
"I.. I WHAT?" He asked, his voice rising in pitch. He shook his head and clamped one huge gloved hand over his mouth. Oh for God's sake, some girl he barely knew was making the moves on him and he sounded like he was going through puberty...  
  
"Geez Knuckles, you look like you're about to have a massive coronary," Amy said, watching him with eyebrows arched so high they were nearly lost into her hairline. "Take a breath, will you?"  
  
Knuckles sucked in a huge amount of air in an attempt to calm himself down. "Listen Amy, I think.. you've _really _got the wrong idea about me..."  
  
Amy arched one eyebrow quizzically in confusion. "What?"  
  
"...You're a nice girl and all, but I hardly know you and...."  
  
"What?" she asked again, loudly. She was fixing him a look as if he was completely incompetent. As he continued his babble in an attempt to lighten the blow and escape potential destruction, she blinked rapidly a few times, a little lightbulb seemingly going off in her head. "OH!" Her face then proceeded to turn as red as a cherry - so red, in fact, that it distracted Knuckles enough to fall silent.  
  
"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Amy gushed suddenly, and made a little gasping sound. One hand went to cover her mouth, and, although Knuckles couldn't see how it was possible, her face turned even more red.   
  
"Knuckles," she squeaked, looking completely embarassed. "That's _totally_ not what I meant."  
  
Knuckles breathed a huge sigh of relief, and then blinked. "Wait, it isn't?"  
  
"Not at all," she said, removing her hand. "I well, I ido/i want you to go out with me," and here her eyes twinkled mischeviously, "but only for revenge!" She wiggled her fingers deviously for empathesis. "Remember?"  
  
It startled a laugh of Knuckles. "Oh," he said, as further realization donned. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh." He laughed again, mostly out of embarassment. Then his eyes narrowed. "Wait, why me?"  
  
"You mean other then the fact that you suggested it?" She winked at him, her previously hot face cooling. The red radiance that lighted her cheeks had dimmed considerably, settling on a nice shade of pink. "Well, I thought to myself, 'Amy, what better way to get back at Sonic then hanging off of the arm of his friendly nemesis?' I thought it was pretty brilliant myself."  
  
"Well, I'll give you that," Knuckles said with a half smirk, "but be serious here Amy, I can't..." he faltered here, and turned away.  
  
"What? Be boyfriend material?" Amy snorted and put one hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn and look at her. She moved her hand, looking sheepish, but eventually it melted away into a smile. "Really, Knuckles, it doesn't _matter_ if you're boyfriend material or not. We're just playing pretend. Besides," she twirled around, grinning. "Any reason for Sonic to get his panties in a knot is a plus for you, isn't it? A taste of his own medicine?"  
  
Knuckles had to agree grudgingly. "Well, yeah, but Amy.. I... I..." he waved one hand, fumbling for excuses. "I don't even really know you."  
  
"Who cares if the idea is believable!" Amy exclaimed, hopping up and down. "Come on Knuckles! You're putting _way_ too much thought into this. Just say yes, and worry about the specifics later. I've got everything covered."  
  
Knuckles gave it one last shot. "But what if you're like... a.. serial killer.. or..."  
  
"Oh, now you're just making excuses," Amy huffed, glowering at him. Knuckles smirked.  
  
"I was making excuses to start with."  
  
"You're more a killer then I, Mister Pointy Fists," she pointed at his barbed fists for empathesis, and Knuckles visibly tensed.  
  
"Come on, Knuckles!" Amy pleaded, ignoring his look. "Think of it as.. an opportunity.. to get to know me better! Make new friends--"  
  
"Friends? I am unfamiliar with this vocabulary."  
  
"--Oh, shut up, you! Like I was saying, you only have to be out with me in public ever so often and you can think of me as like.. a tour guide.. or something?"  
  
"Public? Did you say public?" Knuckles looked seriously ill.  
  
"I'm sorry," Amy said with a huge air of sarcasm, "Is this going to effect your social standing in any manner? Being seen with a cute girl?"  
  
"Amy..."  
  
"You don't think I'm cute!"  
  
"I didn't say that!" Knuckles snapped quickly, and suddenly turned an even deeper shade of red then usual.  
  
"Oooh!" Amy cried, delighted. "Are you blushing?"  
  
"You're very... uhm..."  
  
"Adorable? Pretty? Drop-dead gorgeous?"  
  
"Loud."  
  
Amy opened her mouth and then shut again, realizing percisely how loud her voice had been escalating in volume over the past few sentences. He had a point - he was only a foot away from her, after all, but she was just so.. so..  
  
"Sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "I'm just.. giddy, that's all."  
  
What an understatement that was! She had never felt so bubbly in her life! She felt as if she were simply going to burst at the seams, simply explode from a sudden overflow of girlish glee! Oh man oh man, she couldn't wait to see the look on Sonic's face when she came parading out with Knuckles at her side!  
  
"So please, Knuckles?" she said, getting down on one knee dramatically, as if proposing. She grabbed him by the hips, staring up at him with what she hoped were puppy dog convincing eyes. "Please? Pretty please? With sugar on top!"  
  
"Oh, alright already!" Knuckles said, wiggling out of her grasp. Amy pumped one fist up into the air in victory and then leapt to her feet excitedly.  
  
"Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you! And I promise to be the best Station Square tour guide _EVER_."  
  
"Yeah, you better," Knuckles grumbled, and then he sighed. "So, when, uhm, do you figure you'll be.. showing me off?"  
  
"As soon as possible!" Amy chirped cheerfully, and his frown grew. "So like... tomorrow, maybe?"  
  
"You're asking me?" Knuckles asked, with a hint of disbelief. He snorted. "I have a choice?"  
  
"Well.... no, you're right, you don't."  
  
He laughed. "Thanks, Amy."

Amy skipped the entire way back up to her hotel. Once inside, she closed the door and locked it, bringing up the volume on her stereo once again to its loudest possible. She switched to a sugar, bubble gum pop station and started twirling around, dancing with herself.  
  
Sometime later she fell backwards onto her bed, feeling eurphoric. When she had first left, she was a woman with a job to do, and that job was to get Knuckles to agree to her little plan, or else feel the wrath of Amy Rose and her pico pico hammer! With this accomplished easily enough and misunderstandings between them forgotten, Amy felt dazed and lost in a world of dreaming, but not in a bad way.  
  
"Oh wow," she said, hugging herself as she stared up at her ceiling fan. The blades swung round and round, dizzingly, making a faint swishing sound. "This time next week," she cackled to herself, "Sonic will be mine!"  
  
"What the heck is _this_?"  
  
"It's a doughnut."  
  
"What's the doughnut?"  
  
"The thing you're holding."  
  
"Oh." Knuckles stared down at the baked good Amy had plopped into his hand upon arrival. The two of them were sitting at the small table in his dainty hotel room kitchen, a white bag (which had came with Amy), and condiments (left by the hotel staff) between them. Knuckles was studying the roll in his hand with an awful amount of concentration. When he looked up, Amy had already bitten into her own, which had some kind of chocolate coating with sprinkles. "Why does your's have a hole?"  
  
"Huh?" Amy asked, through a mouthful of food. She coughed. "Oh! Because your's has filling, mine doesn't."  
  
"What kind of filling?" Knuckles asked with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Strawberry," Amy responded. "Hey, what's with the look?"  
  
"Why are we doing this, anyway?" Knuckles grunted, sniffing the doughnut before taking a cautious bite out of it.  
  
"What do you mean?" Amy asked innocently. She reached across the table, shoving her hand into the bag and pulling out a little bottle of orange juice, which she set in front of her.  
  
"You know, this." He made a face as he took a bigger, more adventerous bite. "Yeech! This doesn't taste like strawberry! It's all.. gooey..."  
  
"Artifical flavoring?" Amy shrugged, popping the cap of her drink and taking a sip. "It's a jelly filling."  
  
"What's up with you people and your substitute fake flavoring?" Knuckles asked in disgust and wiped his face on his glove. "And you never answered my question."  
  
"What?" Amy Rose asked, and Knuckles shot her a look. "Oh. Uh.. we're.. bonding," she said. "And setting out rules before we go out."  
  
"Rules?" Knuckles said, with a hint of amusement. "You haven't laid any down yet."  
  
Amy glared. "Yeah well.... I haven't thought of any yet..."  
  
"So there's guidelines I have to follow?" Knuckles continued, wrinkling his nose. "A specific way I'm supposed to act?"  
  
"Well... yeah!" Amy said, and Knuckles looked offended. "Oh come on Knuckles, I don't know how you interact with people, for all I know you go around headbutting strangers for absolutely no reason at all."  
  
"Well, it's fun!" Knuckles protested.  
  
Amy stared at him in horror, but then she realized he was just joking. "Yeah well," she giggled, "you can't be doing that anymore. We have to act like a real, geniune couple!"  
  
She wondered if it was the trick of a light, or if Knuckles really did look a bit apprehensive. "Dare I ask," he muttered, "how couples act?"  
  
"You mean you don't know?" Amy asked, aghast. She finished up the rest of his doughnut, staring at him, but he was looking down at his own, unfinished doughnut. "Well.. like, they.. hold hands and stuff."  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
She sighed deeply and took another, larger drink of her orange juice. "How about, you just keep quiet and stand by me while I do all the talking?"  
  
"What, we have to talk too? Just being with me isn't enough?"  
  
"Well, Sonic isn't going to pick up the hint with something so.. subtle."   
  
"Amy," Knuckles said flatly, "We don't even interact, usually. I'm sure Sonic will notice the difference, and if he doesn't, well.."  
  
"Well," Amy said, looking at one of the many clocks that were scattered about in the room. "We're about to find out. In ten minutes Sonic's due out to the pool for his usual Wensday sunbathe."  
  
"You've memorized Sonic's weekly schedule?" Knuckles said, disgusted. He looked a bit confused. "Somehow, Sonic doesn't strike me as a kind of sunbather."  
  
"Well, he is." Amy said, standing. "Do you have swimming trunks?"  
  
"Swimming trunks? What the heck are those?"  
  
"You swim in them!" Amy said, exasperated. "Sheesh Knuckles, do you know anything?"  
  
"I resent that," Knuckles said, snorting. "Besides, why would I put on clothing when I don't wear any in the first place? And just to get wet, no less?"  
  
Amy couldn't argue against that. "Well, I don't run around nude, so I do need to get ready." Her hand once again reached into the white bag on the table, this time pulling out a two piece bathing suit.  
  
"EEEW!" Knuckles said, jumping out of his chair. "That was in there with my _FOOD_?!"Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Station Square and the self-proclaimed fastest thing alive, found himself lounging around by the pool. He had one blue leg crossed over the other, idly flipping through a magazine, shades pulled down over his green eyes. After a few minutes of relaxing silence laying out in the sun, he heard the sound of automatic doors coming from the lobby, and the sound of familiar, girlish laughter.  
  
With super quick reflexes he was on his feet, preparing to block off what was surely going to be an oncoming onslaught from Amy Rose. What he did not expect, however, was for her to swagger past him without so much of a glance in her two piece bikini, followed by a rather grumpy looking Knuckles the Echidna. Wait.. what?  
  
Sonic flipped up his shades, giving the two individuals a double-take. Even then, he wasn't entirely convinced. "Knux?" he inquired.  
  
"Yeah?" Sure enough, the echidna turned around, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"What are _you_ doing here, knucklehead?"   
  
"Out for a swim, what does it look like, hog?" Was the aggitated response. This kind of attitude was customary with Knuckles, and usually would have been easily waved off or parryed with a sharp-witted retort, but Sonic found himself at a loss.  
  
"With.. Amy?"  
  
"Yeah, with Amy," Knuckles reiterated for him, glaring. "You wanna make something out of it?"  
  
Sonic raised his hands in defense. "Calm down there, tiger." He went back to his chair and resumed his lounging, but was unable to tear his eyes off of the two.  
  
"Knuckles, darling," Amy said in a sickly sweet voice, lying stomach-down on a spot she had chosen. "Would you put some sunscreen on my back and shoulders, please?"  
  
Knuckles eyes widdened, and Sonic surpressed a chuckle. _Hoo boy, what is she trying to pull?_ Much to his surprise (and further confusion), however, the echidna proceeded to do just that; getting awkwardly down on his knees beside her and using those big clumsy hands to smear tanning oil all over her body.  
  
When he was finished she patted an open space beside her, and he sat down next to her, rather then lay down. Knuckles then pulled off his huge clog-hopper-for-shoes and yanked off his socks. Satsified, he rolled over onto his stomach as well, complaining under his breath about how hot the lawn chair was.  
  
For a while there Sonic just sat there, staring there, mouth slightly ajar. With every passing moment, the situation made less and less sense. Eventually Amy looked in his direction, and, seeing his chance, Sonic waggled his eyebrows at her. Amy, much to his utter and complete disbelief, snorted and turned her head in the other direction.  
  
That was the last straw. Sonic once agian swung onto his feet, this time bothering to walk over there and confront the situation himself. Once he was standing over there, he tapped one foot impatiently, waiting for Amy to acknowledge his precense. She never did.  
  
He cleared his throat, and Knuckles looked up, then looked away almost immediately. Sonic was quickly becoming impatient. "Yo, Amy!"  
  
"What?" she snapped, before bothering to glance up.  
  
"So, uh.." he gestured vaguely to the two of them. "What's up?"  
  
"What's up with what?" Amy didn't seem to have the faintest idea as to what he was talking about.  
  
"Don't play dumb. What's the deal with you two here?"  
  
"Who?" Amy said. Then a smile slowly spread across his features. "Ooohhhh! You mean _us_?" She pointed to Knuckles and then to herself.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Sonic said quickly. "You two. Let's have an explanation, pronto."  
  
"Excuse me?" Amy smirked, shifting slightly on her elbows. "I don't believe it's any of your business who my current love interest is, Sonic."  
  
Sonic's muddled expression morphed into one of a person incredibly amused by someone else's joke. "What?" he asked, letting the laughter seep into his voice.  
  
"Something funny, twerp?" Knuckles growled suddenly, and Amy just shook her head.  
  
"Wait, am I hearin' this right?" Sonic asked, looking at them critically. "Wait wait, hold up here," he laughed again, loudly. "Are you tellin' me you two are an... _item_?"  
  
"Yes," Amy said, smiling broadly.  
  
Sonic couldn't contain himself. He went into a hysterical fit of laughter, complete with knee slapping and an inability to breathe. "You.. and.. Knuckles?"  
  
"Yes," said Amy, her smile fading a little.  
  
"Hahaha! Come on, Amy, yer killin' me here! You and echitard?"  
  
"Hey, Sonic, you hungry?" Knuckles snarled, getting up onto his knees. "Because I'm about to make you eat your words."  
  
"Yes, Knuckles and I are going out," Amy said, holding up her hand to keep Knuckles at bay. "See, I realized I should stop wasting my time on losers--"  
  
"--So you opted for a bigger loser, am I right?"   
  
"WHY YOU LITTLE--" One barbed fist lashed out and collided right against the side of Sonic's face, knocking him backwards onto his butt.  
  
"I think you missed," Sonic snarled, rubbing the little scrape where Knuckles' fist had grazed him.  
  
"Your fat head is a hard target to miss," Knuckles glowered, standing over him and raising a clenched fist. Amy sqwacked angerily behind him, but neither of the two were paying much attention.  
  
"I hope you got a good shot in," Sonic raged, shoving himself off of the pavement to stand. "Because it'll be the last chance you'll get before I break your arm!" And with that, he balled up his fists and swung.  
  
Knuckles managed to dodge, stepping backwards into the lawnchair. He swore under his breath, kicking the unoccupied one out of the way and readying his fists. "Yeah right," he seethed and struck.  
  
Sonic was on guard this time, and managed to evade the blow with ease. Narrowing his eyes, he suddenly launched himself off of the ground and on top of the other teenager, hammering down on him with both fists while Knuckles tried to fend him off.  
  
"Boys! BOYS!" Amy roared as the two boys proceeded to attempt to tear each other apart. "CUT IT OUT!" When no one complied, she jumped off her chair and into the battle zone, shoving her way between them and narrowly avoiding Knuckles' fist and Sonic's spines.  
  
She bodily forced the two apart, the only defense keeping them from killing each other. "Stop behaving like hethens!" She commanded, while one glared at the other hatefully. "Sonic, stop provoking him," she narrowed her eyes at the hedgehog before rounding on the other, "And Knuckles, is he _really_ worth your effort?"  
  
"Hmph, I guess not," Knuckles said before taking a step back and turning away from them. Sonic, breathing heavily and tense, relaxed a little and stepped back.  
  
"Fine!" he threw his hands up and snorted. "Hope you two are happy together." And with that, he whirled away from them and stalked off.  
  
**END CHAPTER TWO.**  
  
_A/N: review._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: hates me and has screwed up my formatting. Curse them! _  
  
"You bonehead," Amy hissed once Sonic had cleared the pool area and marched through the sliding glass doors into the lobby. "Why'd you have to hit him?"

"Hey," Knuckles said, rubbing the back of his head where the blue hedgehog had been wailing on him. "He was asking for it. You said yourself that he was provoking me." He was breathing hard, with his body rigid and taut. He seemed to be trying to control his temper."Well, next time, try to refrain from hauling off and slugging him, okay?" She put her hands on her hips and gave him a piercing look. "I'm sure this wont be the last time he takes a jab at you while we're going out.""Great," Knuckles said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. His hand lingered over one spot of his head, presumably where Sonic had clocked him good. "He fights like a sissy. He _actually_ started pulling my dreads."Amy's look of dissaproval morphed into one of concern. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?" One hand reached out to touch him, and he jerked away suddenly. Her hand lingered in the air briefly before dropping at her side."I'm sorry," Knuckles said. He took a step back, putting more distance between them. He seemed flustered. "I'm just.. not used to people touching me, that's all."Amy's mind flashed back to when she had caught sight of him in the ice cream parlor, and the look he gave her when she put her hand on his. Being isolated on the Floating Island, she knew, meant that he had some communication problems, but she hadn't put much thought into the physical interaction aspect. She felt suddenly very, very ashamed."Oh Knuckles!" she said, covering her mouth in horror. "I didn't even think about it!" Although it was painful for her to say, she forced it out anyway, "if you, you know, don't want to--"Knuckles held one hand up in protest. "No, no, don't even say it," he said, not looking at her. "You bugged me for like half an hour to join you in your scheming and I can't back down now." He glanced up, offering a weak smile. It made him appear incredibly boyish. "Besides, it gives me an opportunity to.. ah.. work on my social skills.""Figure you'll be using them a lot, back on the island?" Amy asked dryly. She was feeling better already. "No..." Knuckles said, appearing a bit bashful. "It's just.. well, I plan to visit here again.""Why Knuckles!" She said, folding her arms and shaking her head with a smile. "I don't believe I've seen this side of you before.""Shut up!" Knuckles said, once again averting his eyes. "I can't believe you expect me to keep pretending to be your boyfriend when you wont stop making fun of me!""So touchy," Amy said, smirking. She grabbed her sunscreen from her bench and threw her towel over her shoulder before heading toward the sliding glass doors that opened into the lobby. She turned back at him when he didn't follow, gesturing behind her. "Come on."Knuckles lifted his head, as if coming out of a daze. "Oh," he said, slowly following suit. He seemed to be heavily contemplating something as the doors swished open, a cool blast of air conditioning hitting them in the face."A penny for your thoughts?" Amy Rose asked as they headed over toward the elevators.A look of confusion crossed his face. "What?"She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at his ignorance with the local lingo. "What're you thinking?""Just..." he hesitated just as she pushed the call button.

"Yeah?"

"I'm.. sorry for decking Sonic," he said, after a pause. He said it slowly, as if each word was painful. "Why Knuckles," Amy said admiringly, "I do believe we've made progress."  
  
---  
  
"Well, the good news is that we've established Sonic is at least curious." Amy said, finishing off the extra doughnut she had brought. She tossed the white paper bag it had come in. "He's showing interest. That's a step in the right direction. But..."Knuckles was seated across from her, arms folded across his chest. "But?""But, you also started a fight with him. So that's two steps backwards."

"What?" Knuckles asked loudly, insulted. "That's not two steps backwards!"  
"Yes it is," Amy said firmly, licking the glaze from her fingers as she popped the rest of the pastry into her mouth. "Hostility causes people to be cautious. Sonic wont be as likely to approach us next time."

Knuckles blew a raspberry. Amy was surprised he even knew how. "Surely you jest," he said, looking at her as if she had said something completely improbable. "This is Sonic we're talking about, rememer? The fathead is nosy. He'll be back."

"I sure hope so..." Amy mumbled, still not quite convinced.  
  
---  
  
Amy Rose stepped of the curb away from the Emerald Coast Hotel, shouldering her purse. Having thrown away her paper bag, she had been forced to stuff her bathing suit, towel, and suntan lotion in it. The bag, having been too small to carry anything other then a girl's basic necessities, now had lumpy bulges that jutted out conspicuously. Trying not to feel too self-conscious, she walked down the street that led toward her apartment, a few blocks away.

Overall, Amy thought to herself, her first day as Knuckles' "girlfriend" had gone over pretty well. Sonic had definitely noticed, and although it was clear he was a skeptic, she had caught his attention. Hopefully their little brawl did not turn the hedgehog completely from the matter. She had to give it to Knuckles, he idid/i have a point - whether it was his hero complex or his inability to keep his nose out of other people's business - Sonic was an exceptional busybody, at least in his own unique way. Despite her fears, she felt a comforting sense that told her he would be back.Maybe it was her lucky day, but out of the corner of her eye she saw a familiar, enticing shape of cobalt blue. It took all of her willpower not to look, though she couldn't hold back the smile - at least, not without showing it for a moment. The figure moved steadily closer, approaching her from behind and to the right, and within a few seconds, Sonic was matching her brisk walk easily."Hey Amy!" he said, as of a way of gaining her attention."What do you want, Sonic?" She said, trying her best to sound annoyed. It was very hard, especially with her heart pounding so hard against her chest. "Do you want to pick a fight with me now, too?" Her steps became a little quicker, trying to walk ahead and away from him. Sonic, predictably, took the bait and glided after her."Oh come on Amy," he said, shaking his head. He was taking one step for her every two with his usual speedy grace. "I just want to talk to you."  
Amy came to an abrupt halt, putting on her most dissaproving (and hopefully, convincing) face. She folded her arms. "What?"Sonic didn't beat around the bush. "Are you really dating Knuckles?" he blurted.Amy made a face. "What's the deal with you? Haven't we gone over this already?""Yeah.. but..." Sonic grappled for words. "But.. we're alone now.""You think I'm pulling something?" Amy asked, astonished. "Well.. I... I don't know," Sonic said, seeming sheepish. He rocked back and forth on his heels anxiously. "He.. just.. uh, doesn't seem your type." Obviously, the idea of Amy and Knuckles as an item was very unsettling to him.Perfect."Yeah, well, we are." One hand moved to perch on her hips. "Is there a problem?""Err, no!" Sonic said, putting up his hands in defense. "It's just.. seriously..." he shook his head. "What do you see in someone like Knucklehead?""He's everything _you_ aren't," she said, before she could stop herself. Indeed, it was a bit of a half truth - Knuckles was, in fact, Sonic's opposite, which is what made him the perfect suitor in her plans. Even still, she wasn't quite sure what spurned the words - or made them so scalding.Sonic appeared as though she had just punched him in the stomach. Once again he fumbled for words. "Well.. I...""Listen Sonic," Amy said, looking at her happy-face wrist watch on her right arm. "I've got to run." She looked past to him, beyond the three blocks where his destination was. "I'll talk to you later, alright?" And she brushed past him.For a moment she thought he was going to allow her to leave it at that, but once again, his voice called to her. "Amy!"She stopped, and this time, she thought her heart might literally burst through her chest. She waited a moment before turning back towards him. "What?""I.. I'm glad you've found someone," he said. Then, with his usual cocky, haughty grin, he added, "Just tell me if he tries anything nasty with you and I'll clobber 'im, alright?" He slammed his fist into his open palm as a way of demonstration.

"Yeah.. alright," Amy said, smiling weakly. Her stomach, already queasy, erupted in a bunch of startled, fluttering butterflies. "I'll see you around, Sonic."

"Later, Amy!" He said cheerily, waving her off. He pivoted to go and she continued walking, though she could sense his gaze lingered on her until long after she was gone.  
  
_A/N: I'm going on vacation tomorrow, but I was hoping to squeeze in another chapter before I did. Unfortunately, to accomplish this, I had to write significantly less. Hopefully nothing seems to rushed or anything.  
  
As always, review. Your opinion is important to me. In the meantime, I'll try to get another chapter up in a week or two. _


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: another short chapter, i know. this might be for the better, however, in the long run. since the new term just began, i wont have the time for any lengthy chapters, but hopefully i can churn out much quicker, shorter chapters. that way you're not missing out. )_

_you know the drill. review!_

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_Chapter 4_  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." Knuckles said in distaste, looking over his reflection that was presented in the vanity mirror. Amy Rose was a few feet across the room from him, sitting on her pink and red adorned bed. "What are you talking about?" she asked in disbelief. "You look.. stylish."

"How do people wear these things?" Knuckles asked. He was, of course, speaking on the topic of the dinnerjacket Amy had subjected him to torture with. Whereas Knuckles seemed to find it horribly ugly and restricting, Amy thought the black went nicely with his fur, and gave the grumpy echidna an air of sophistication and glamour. "It's so uncomfortable."

"Come on Knuckles, we've got to do this right," Amy protested as he shrugged the jacket off of his shoulders. He picked it up and held it away from him, as if it was something very repulsive. "Operation _Get Sonic Jealous_ will require us to be doing coupley things."

"Listen Amy, as much as I love your devilry, you're taking this too far," he cast the jacket aside onto a chair at her desk, abandoning it. "I think the fancy shmancy dinners is a bit much. Besides, does Sonic really strike you as a type of person you'd have to stalk to a formal dinner?" Amy didn't answer. "See what I mean?" He folded his arms and smirked, leaning against the wall.

"Well, okay," Amy pouted, pushing off the edge of her bed and standing. "I guess you have a point." She glanced at her watch. It was three pm on a Tuesday, which meant Sonic was due at his favorite fast food joint. With this in mind, she stood and headed toward the door, grabbing her purse on the way. She motioned for Knuckles to follow her without bothering to turn around, knowing he knew the routine by now enough not to question her. When she reached the door however, she turned around with a rather impish grin.

"Uh oh," Knuckles said, stopping and arching an eyebrow. After a week of posing as Amy's boyfriend, he knew that smile meant trouble. He waited curiously for her to share with him her latest sadistic intent. But instead, Amy surprised him with something quite different.

"If you don't mind me being so bold," she said, "you should really reconsider that jacket. It really looked as though you were _poured _into it." She giggled when he blushed.

* * *

"TAILS!"

The two tailed boy genius yelped, scared half to death by an individual standing less then a foot behind himr He jerked involutinarily, hitting his head on the hood of the front of his latest invention. "OWwwww!" Rubbing his head, he turned to see Sonic standing there, looking panicked.

"Sonic?" Tails asked, his bruised noggin forgotten. It was replaced with a geniune concern for his best friend and idol. "Are you alright?"

"Amy isn't here, right?" Sonic blurted out immediately. His eyes were wide and flightly, the irises jumping back and forth excitedly as if the pink hedgehog were to come hurtling toward him at any given moment.

"Uhm.. no?" Tails blinked rapidly a few times. His workshop was in the middle of the Mystic Ruins, no where near where Amy Rose's usual hanging spots were.

"What about Knuckles?" Sonic asked, still looking frightened. His eyes continued to search the room anxiously. "He's not here, is he? Is he?"

"Sonic, are you feeling okay?" Tails asked. He stepped back from his current project, closing the hid as to prevent further injury before pulling off oil-slicked gloves.

"No, I'm not okay!" Sonic snapped quickly. Tails shrinked back a little, and the blue hedgehog took in a deep breath, his features calming and looking a little less crazed. "Sorry.. I'm fine.. I just..." he then proceeded to explain to the two-tailed fox about the horror of Amy Rose's new love interest.

Tails was unimpressed. "So?"

"What? Are you sayin' that isn't totally major weird in itself?" Sonic asked, looking at Tails as if he had grown a second head to match his twin tail.

"Okay," Tails admitted, putting his hands up to acknowledge Sonic had a point. "But still.. isn't that what you wanted? I mean, problem solved, right?"

"But.. but.." Sonic's voice dropped to a whisper here. He once again seemed edgey. "I see them everywhere, bud!"

"Excuse me?"

"Everywhere I go.. everytime I step outside... there she is, with Knucklehead in tow. It's like.. she's following me or something!"

"Coincidence?" Tails offered.

"More like.. trying to rub it in my face," Sonic said, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I know I sound nuts but..."

"And what's her aim? Public humiliation? Is that something you can _really _been humiliated by, Sonic? Her showing off her new boytoy? I mean.. it's Amy Rose," Tails tried to assauge. He didn't really see what the big deal was, or why Sonic seemed so upset and uncomfortable. Unless...

"I think you're fretting about nothing, honestly," Tails said, turning away and depositing his gloves on top of his toolbox. He grabbed a rag from an old sink beside it, wiping down his hands. "That is.. unless in parading around and showing off..." he turned around and smiled, "she made you jealous?"

Sonic blushed.

* * *

"Oooh, poo!" Amy said, wringing her hands in anguish. "Where is he? He's _always _here for Chili Dog Tuesdays!" She had searched the inside of the hamburger joint thoroughly and extensively, but there was still no sign of her beloved hero.

"I dunno. Maybe he decided on takeout?" Knuckles shrugged, unconcerned. Playing boyfriend and being subjected to Sonic's wry commentary in the process had been extremely unpleasant every time he had encountered the hedgehog, especially because Amy forbidded him to get a swing in. It was a nice break.

"Well, we can't just go up to his flat and see," Amy said, looking very distressed. "We can't be _that _obvious."

Knuckles snorted. "As if we were being exactly subtle to start with," he scoffed, and attempted to take a drink from the strawberry milkshake he had gotten a few moments earlier. It was exceptionally thick, and thus, nearly impossible to get anything out of it - he had to resort to sucking on the straw as hard as he could, which, even then, had been a mostly fruitless effort.

Amy sighed quite dramatically. "Well, I guess we'll just have to try again tomorrow," she said, clearly depressed. Adjusting her purse on her shoulder, she turned on her heel and exitted, Knuckles two paces behind her like the obedient puppy he was trained to be.

"Oh well," she said, mostly to herself. "At least today wasn't a total loss.." Her eyes lit where a shop had a huge _'Grand Opening'_ banner stretched across it. "A new clothing store just opened up across the street! C'mon, Knuckles!" She yanked him by the arm and dragged him off.


	5. Chapter 5

_

* * *

A/N: Instead of doing Chemistry homework, I'm on my laptop typing this up. I bet I'll regret this tomorrow during my Polyatomics quiz. Heh._

_Commentary, suggestions, and critical analysis is welcome. Review!_

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"I think you really made that clerk's day," Knuckles said, his voice slightly muffled behind all the bags he was carrying. They were piled so high in his arms that it obscured his vision entirely and Amy had to give him verbal directions, lest he fall on his face. Twice she had neglected to do so in time, and he had a few bruises from a fire hydrant because of it. He took the abuse with little less then a grunt, continuing to carry out his objective without complaint. "Did you see the way her eyes lit up when you handed her that creditcard?"

"I'm a big spender," Amy giggled, shrugging helplessly. "When I see something I like, I buy it.""Don't you think this is a bit excessive?" Knuckles inquired. ('Left!' Amy ordered suddenly and he swiveled in that direction, narrowly avoiding a street lamp.) "Not only did you buy every article of clothing in the store, but in every color AND with every accessory.""It's a girl thing, Knuxie." She could hear him groan at the nickname, but otherwise, he did not comment. "We like having options.""If you say so," she heard the rustle of bags as he adjusted the weight from one arm to another, a never ending juggling act with her clothes. "How do you find room for all this?" ('Right!' Amy declared, a bit late; he stumbled a little over uneven pavement)"I stuff them in linen closets and in my spare bedroom," Amy replied easily. She hopped the curb, and Knuckles managed to follow without gravely injuring himself."Watch your step!" she advised, carefully leading him up the stairs into her apartment. She found her key swiftly and opened the door for him, allowing him to walk inside. Immediately he found the couch and abandoned all of her junk upon it, but not before hitting her coffee table with his hip (many swear words ensued). With this accomplished, he flopped down as well, defeated."Hard work?" Amy said, walking past him and into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door."No," he answered from the other room, "just sick of carrying it. You get to take it from here." As a way of excuse, he added, "I don't know where you want this stuff, anyway."Amy grabbed a cherry cola for herself, and peeked out into the living room. "Want anything?" she inquired, mostly out of habit. He always got the same thing when she asked him, so there was really no point in being redundant. She mostly did it as a way of being polite."Grape juice," he said predictably. His body was draped lazily across the coach besides her goody bags, looking very at home. Over the last several days he had eased up very noticeably around her, and new doors of conversation and relaxation had opened up between them.She stepped back into the room with the beverages, sitting his down on a coaster. She knew it would be several minutes before he bothered to touch his. She took a few sips of her's as she sat down on a loveseat across from him. "I wonder what Sonic's doing," she wondered aloud before setting her own drink down.Knuckles eyes were closed, his arms behind his head. He looked exactly like her idol relaxing on one of his lazy days, though he probably didn't know it.

"Probably doing his best to avoid us," he chuckled. "He seems to be getting exceedingly more freaked out everytime we have a 'chance' encounter with him."

"It means he's noticing," Amy said, "and that's good." she took another drink, crossing her legs. "I bet he's getting reallllly jealous by now." She sighed dreamily. "How long do you think until he asks me out?"Knuckles eyes remained closed, but suddenly he didn't seem so relaxed anymore. "Uh.. I don't know," he said. Whenever the subject of her immediate future with Sonic came up, he seemed to get awfully dodgey. Amy assumed it was simply because the idea of 'real' relationships weirded him out."I bet it'll be any day now," Amy said, to further her own daydream. She smiled contentedly at the wall for a few minutes, imaginging her beloved. After a little bit, she turned to where Knuckles was laying. His eyes were opened now, still stretched out, but his hands were in his lap now. "Well, I guess we're done for today," Amy said, shrugging. "You can head home now, if you'd like."Knuckles nodded. He sat up and grabbed ahold of his drink, bringing it to his lips. In a few, easy gulps, it was gone. "And tomorrow?""No plans.. at least, not really. Later on I was thinking of going out to dinner. Not sure where, though."Knuckles stood and stretched, yawning. Afterwards, he looked to her curiously. "What? No hunting Sonic? Just.. wherever?"Amy flashed him a wicked grin. "I think that, regardless of what we do," she said slyly, "Sonic will come to us."

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He found himself pacing the floor, uncharacteristically deep in thought. He had been doing it for so long that he had actually lost track of time, allowing it to become an anxious blur as he walked the length of his room and then back again. He glided across the carpet, retracing the same steps he had done several dozen times before. His hand extended to retrieve the phone off the cradle on his bedside table, but lingered there as he hesitated and rethought his options. For a long time now he had been thinking about calling Amy Rose, but each time he had gone to actually pull it off, he had lost his nerve."Come on," he muttered to himself. "You've been puttin' this off for too long now," still, his hand did not budge from its position, which was still hovering over the phone. "Come on," he egged out loud, and then groaned when he realized he was talking to himself. "Aw geez."He whipped around, stalking back toward the door to his bedroom. When he reached it, he did an immediate about-face and continued back toward the phone again with a defeated sigh. "Okay, okay, okay, okay!" he said. He stopped a foot or so from the little bedside table and did a few little hops, waving his arms from side to side, as if warming up for a boxing match.

"You can do this." He quickly snatched up the phone off its hook and put it to his ear, quickly punching in the numbers before he could lose his nerve. There were a few beeps as it connected, and then a sweet voice picked up on the recieving end.

"Hello?"Suddenly the bravery he had acquired was sent hurtling into oblivion. He met her inquiry with silence."Hello?" Amy Rose asked again, louder. He opened his mouth several times, trying to formulate the proper response. However, his inexperience with dealing with such things left him breathless and flustered."Hel--"He slammed the phone down on the cradle before he could further embarass himself, and swore softly under his breath.

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"Anything else I can interest you in? Did you find everything okay?" The clerk asked as Knuckles stacked what he was purchasing neatly on the counter."Err, no, I think that'll do it," he said, a little embarassedly. Ever since he had stepped into the shop sales people had been following around, helping him out, making suggestions. He had found the entire experience quite uncomfortable, but had been determined to get over his phobia of people."Alright then," the clerk proceeded to ring it up and bag it. Knuckles fumbled for the credit card the mayor of Station Square had awarded him with, pre-paid. Such were the boons of being somewhat of a hero. The clerk's eyes lit up when he slid it hesitantly across the counter towards him. In one quick swipe, the purchase was made and Knuckles signed a receipt (which was difficult, with his large, clumsy hands). He swung his bag over his shoulder and made a swift retreat back outside, the clerk wishing him a good evening as he left.

Frankly, Knuckles was more then happy then to leave. The extreme claustrophobia and mild panic he had been getting from all the people fretting over him had dissipated. Feeling a lot more comfortable he stepped onto the sidewalk, preparing to head back to his hotel to try out his new goods. He stopped to consider his routes, when a rather snide, familiar, and furthermore, ANNOYING voice called out to him.

"Hey Knuckles!"Surpressing the immediate impulse for violence, Knuckles smoothed out his ruffled features the best that he could. Turning and putting on his most unrattled expression he could muster, he addressed his nemesis that was jogging across the street toward him at a moderate pace. "Yeah?""Out shopping?" Sonic smirked, as he zipped over beside him. He looked over the top of Knuckles' head at the shop he had emerged from and let out a low whistle. "Well, somebody spent a pretty penny, didn't they?" he looked the echidna in the eye and grinned. "You've got good taste though, if you're in it to impress a girl."Knuckles' felt his cheeks getting red, though with embarassment or anger, he didn't really want to debate. He settled on anger, clenching his fists. "Look, Sonic--" _If you keep pushing me, Amy wont be here to restrain me..._

"Hey hey, I'm not here to pick a fight," Sonic said, taking a step back. Knuckles felt he could breathe a little better, with more space to himself. His anger dwindled as it was replaced with confusion. "You aren't?"

"No, I just came here to give you a fair warning," Sonic said. When Knuckles arched an eyebrow, Sonic indicated the bags and side. "You might want to exchange that for your cash."

Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because you wont have the chance to use them," Sonic said simply, turning away from him. He began to speed away at a leisurely, almost lazy pace.Knuckles lifted one hand to his mouth, calling after him, "what does that mean?"

"It means," Sonic called over his shoulder, "that Amy wont be your's for long!"

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_This is for real, isn't it? I.. I'm in love with Amy Rose._

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_A/N: Ooohhh! So who's inner monologue IS that? I guess we'll just have to find out in the next chapter, huh?_

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_Now that someone's cards are on the table, I have to admit to a certain curosity. Who do you think this story is more in favor to? Is it geared more toward a Sonic/Amy happy ending, or could I even go with a more oddball pairing like Knuckles/Amy? I'm doing my best to be impartial here, as the response really wont affect me; the ending duo has been decided long before I started drafting this (though I'll admit I've been kind of wavering on my decision. Maybe a change is in order?) _

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_Feedback is appreciated. I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP for your viewing pleasure!_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Here I ammmm! Sorry I didn't get a chapter up sooner, guys, I've been REALLY busy. I'll try to be more prompt next time. Regardless, thanks for being so supportive with all the positive feedback, and keep the reviews coming! _

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Tails rarely took a day off from his workshop in the Mystic Ruins, but when he saw an ad on TV for a chain of ice cream shops offering particularly appealing frozen treats, he decided today was a special occasion. Such was the reason that found him in downtown Station Square exitting an ice cream shop, frozen choco-banana in hand. After he finished off his goody, he was considering hitting a few shops - he was in need of a new pair of gloves after all the oil stains he had acquired from working on a new Tornado prototype - but what he didn't expect was to be interecepted by none other then his big brother figure and all-around hero, Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Just who I was hoping to find.""Sonic!" Tails asked, so startled at the sudden sight of his friend that he tripped off the edge of the curb. In a blink of an eye Sonic was there, yanking him back on the sidewalk by the elbow.

"Watch your step!"

"Thanks," Tails said, wobbling a little as he regained his balance. "What're you doing here?""Looking for you," Sonic said simply. "I dropped by yer workshop but you weren't there, so I hightailed it back here. I figured you weren't here for the botique shops," he shrugged.Tails bit into the soft chocolate shell of his ice cream and chewed it thoughtfully. It wasn't like Sonic to put so much effort into seeking him out; usually he would have hung around in his workshop or come back later and check again. Sonic obviously wanted something. "Is something up?""Actually," Sonic admitted, "there is." He shifted his weight between both of his legs, appearing suddenly anxious. "I saw Knuckles buying a tux today."Tails nearly spat up his banana. "Uhmmm.." he said, leaning in a little in disbelief. "What?""Yeah," Sonic said, shaking his head. "Exactly. Sounds weird, no?""Maybe a little odd.." Tails agreed. "Maybe he's aiming to impress?""Who? Amy?" Sonic asked hesitantly. Clearly he had the same intuition, but was trying to get Tails to dissasuade his horrible, improbable notions."Well, yeah. Maybe they're having a nice, romantic, formal dinner.." Tails puckered up his lips and gave the air in front of him a nice big wet one."Oh God," Sonic said, looking pale. "You think so? The duds he came out of the shop with looked like something would wear for a WEDDING."Tails giggled at the thought. "Here comes the bride, all dressed in white.."Sonic screamed and one hand went flying out, as if to deflect some horrible image from branding itself into his brain. "NO!" he wailed. "Don't scare me like that!""Who knows?" Tails continued, highly amused. "Maybe Knuckles thinks she's the one! Maybe he's proposing her to RIGHT now! Maybe they're engaged--""No! No! Noooo!""--Hey, maybe you can be the best man! Wouldn't that be ironic?" He laughed ridiculously loud at the prospect."Yeah. Hilarious." Sonic's mouth had morphed into a grim line. "Anyway, Doctor Demento, all joking aside...""Yeah, yeah," Tails said, snorting a little as the amusement subsiding. "It is a little weird, but maybe he's going over overkill? Maybe he really likes her.""Now, why would he want to do that, I wonder." Sonic pondered aloud. Then his eyes narrowed. "Unless he wanted..." he left the rest of the words unsaid, but the implication hung heavily in the air between them. Tails suddenly felt very hot in the face.  
"Sonic, you don't REALLY think--" "Come on," Sonic growled darkly. "Let's break this happy couple up." And he stalked off, Tails trotting after him.---  
  
About fifteen after six, Amy Rose headed out into the living room, waiting for her date to arrive. He still had a few minutes until she deemed him officially late - they had reservations at a nice little upscale resteraunt downtown at seven, and she wanted to leave by six thirty.The dinner was semi-formal, but being Amy Rose, she had gone all out with a fancy little red dress, along with red shoes, long gloves, and a matching purse. She had also fought a long and tedious battle with her spines, who did not seem to want to behave. Eventually she opted for pushing them up and over her face like bangs, and then hairspraying them into place. When she had looked into the mirror she looked cute, yet classy, and the hairdo reminded her strongly of her old hairstyle when she was younger.She sat down on the couch in the living room, cross-legged while one finger tapped the arm of the furniture impatiently. Earlier she had called Knuckles and had tried vainly one last time to get him to reconsider putting on that dinner jacket she had gotten for him - at least for tonight. He had flat out refused, as expected, but said he'd look nice, promise. Amy was doubtful."Well, he promised," Amy muttered to herself, feeling increasingly impatient as the minutes ticked by. She didn't like the idea of him showing up in an outfit she hadn't had the chance to rate. It wasn't that she thought him a liar, but Knuckles wasn't exactly in touch with the do's and don't's in a formal setting, having been secluded a fair portion of his life.

Amy Rose took a deep breath, smoothed out a wrinkle in her dress, and told herself to relax. Although she had imformed Knuckles that there was no particular reason to tonight's outting, it was a bit of a lie, which he had probably figured out already. Although Sonic was not prone to being spotted in nice, quality resteraunts, he WAS prone to being in that area at that time of day. She was planning on getting a window seat once they got there, and making herself a gorgeous figurine for him to catch sight of (which she knew he would). All prettied up tonight for the occasion, she knew there was no way he could avoid falling in love with her NOW once he saw her. She wasn't usually so confident or conceited, she just.. knew it somehow, in her heart.

A knock at her front door startled her out of her daydream."Coming!" Amy said, immediately leaping up out of her chair and jogging toward the door. She paused to collect herself, hang lingering at the doorknob, before finally twisting it."Hey Knuck.. WHOA."Knuckles, who had been looking down at the 'welcome' placemat at her doorstep, looked up slowly. "Err.. hey Amy." He said shyly and slowly before blushing a little, coloring nicely in the cheeks. "Wow," Amy said, eyes wide as she looked him over again. Knuckles was dressed to one of the more modern renditions of a tuxedo, with a black jacket and slacks, with a dark grey vest underneath. His usual large, clunky plated shoes were replaced with smooth, sleek, and well-polished dinner shoes, also black, and his white gloves were gotten rid of completely, exposing barbed and surprisingly slender, almost feminine hands, although calloused with overuse. Amy was suddenly struck with how surprisingly handsome Knuckles was. "Wow!""What?" Knuckles asked, looking nervous. He looked really uncomfortable in his outfit, as if he wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not. What Knuckles didn't know was how breathtakingly gorgeous he was."You.. you just.." she fumbled for words, but found herself at a complete and utter loss. ".. You clean up well," was all she could come up with. Although lame, Knuckles immediately brightened."Thanks. You, uh.. do too." He smiled slightly, small and triangular in shape. Amy found herself surprised at the blush that she felt forming on her cheeks. "So uhm.. shall we go?" He stepped forward so that he was standing in her doorway, just a foot or so just outside of her personal space. He offered one arm like a complete gentlecreature, and Amy could smell something sweet and distinctively cinnamon."Wow," was all she said.

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_Feedback is encouraged 3_


	7. Chapter 7

_author's notes: thank you, babygirl, for reminding me i've been neglecting my duties as a fanfic writer. this one's for you! 3 i'll try to keep a more constant schedule from now on ;)_

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_read, enjoy, and review! sorry it's so short. it'll be better next time, promise._

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"You might want to close your mouth. I think you're starting to collect flies."

Amy blinked, shaken out of her hypnotized stupor. She shook her head a little, clearing the spiraling design of her thoughts and bringing herself back into the present. When she realized she had been staring at Knuckles unblinkingly for the past two minutes or so, she blushed and sank back in her seat.

"Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.

He returned a similiar grin. "It's no problem."

The conversation lapsed into a defeaning silence that engulfed the entire table. Amy, feeling awkward, tried to find the appropriate place to place her eyes - for a while it drifted out of the window, into the pouring room, but for some reason she didn't feel like spying for a potentially supsicious and jealous Sonic. She opted for giving the resteraunt a once-over - but after six once-overs, there was hardly anything to see. She found that often, without thinking of it, her eyes would travel to Knuckles, who was sitting a little stiffly in his chair and playing absently with his silverware, trying to occupy his hands.

"So.." she said slowly, trying to find the words to bring back some vague likeness of their usual conversations. "..Uhm.. you really surprised me."

Knuckles, himself, looked geniunely surprised. "What?"

"I mean.. your clothes," she said, gesturing to his undeniably snazzy attire. "I mean, you had arged so vehemently against the dinner jacket..."

"Err, well," Amy got the rare pleasure of seeing Knuckles completely disarmed; the poor echidna looked like a helpess, cornered animal. For a moment he stumbled over the right excuse. "I just.. well, you know..." he finished lamely.

"No, I don't," she said, smirking in faint amusement.

Knuckles frowned deeply, but at the moment he was lucky enough for them to be intercepted by the maitre d. The waiter put their dinners down in front of them and asked them if they had any more requests. Knuckles visibly relaxed after he left and went immediately for the food; he had seemed to find it the proper distraction to veer Amy away from the topic at hand.

"Explain to me?" she asked, after giving him a moment to settle in with his food. She giggled under her breath at his attempts to handle the silverware properly, and failing, which escalated into full laughter when he looked up, horrified.

"Huh?" he couldn't feign innocence here and he knew it.

"You were just about to explain to me why you dressed up for the occasion," Amy purred in absolute delight. "You know I wouldn't have minded either way."

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_Yeah right_, Knuckles thought demurely, _sure you wouldn't have_.

He glanced quickly out of the window for support. It didn't help that he thought saw a flicker of cobalt in the midst of the rain and wet streets, watching from one of the alleys. _Great, something I _really _don't need_...

He couldn't quite place why he was so nervous, just that he was. For whatever reason, he found the topic drifting into an area of his personal space that he really didn't like. He just wish he knew why...

"Well, alright," he said. It was painfully apparent she wasn't going to let him dodge this - at least for long. "I just.. you know, I figured I owed it to you."

"Owed?" she asked quizzically.

"Well, okay," he talked as he ate, even though it made his stomach do uncomfortable flip-flops. "It's just like.. well, like a 'thank you', I guess." He shrugged, and his shoulders jerked at the movement, as his joints were just a bundle of knots.

"A 'thank you'?" Amy Rose inquired, and at this she looked geniunely curious. "For what? Making you pretend you were my boyfriend? Making you play some stupid game just so I can get a girlhood crush to go out with me? For making you deal for your nemesis on a near daily basis?"

"No, no," Knuckles put up one hand to stop her tirade. "You're looking at this the wrong way." He found a faint hum of sudden courage that startled even him. "I don't see it like that. I see it like this: gee whiz Knuckles, Amy sure is a nice girl. Look at how nice Amy is. Amy comes and visits me; Amy goes out to dinner with me; Amy buys me dinner; Amy opens up a conversationalist side I usually surpress; Amy brings laughter and ebbs out the angst; Amy was the only person who willingly approached me during my vacation, and a girl no less; Amy is also the first person who I've remotely put myself at ease with, and, well.." he lost himself in his words, and when he came back to earth he found himself staring into a pair of dazzling pair of bright green eyes. More importantly, those sparkling green eyes were staring back just as intently.

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"Thank you," Amy said, at the porch of her apartment. She had Knuckles' coat wrapped around her to keep the rain from ruining her dress. She smiled up at him, feeling a nervous, almost drunken buzz inside of her.

"Nahhh, thank you," Knuckles said, smirking down at her. "You paid for dinner."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she said, fully aware in the back of her mind that she had forgotten to keep an eye out for Sonic this whole evening. Furthermore, she found that it didn't bother her at all. "I meant your.."

"My speech?" he said quickly, as though embarassed of the mere notion. "Yeah, well.." he shrugged again, out of nervous habit. "Whatever. Anyway, I should be going, before I REALLY get drenched.." he turned to go.

"Wait!" Amy said, grabbing him gently by the arm. Instead of jerking away like he usually did, he swiveling back to face her easily and without any clouded or angry expression.

"Yeah?"

She pulled him a little closer and opened her mouth. She started to say something but then their lips brushed. It was quite by accident, really; the actual itself brought an incredibly embarassed, yet pleasant tingling sensation that made her body ache. She started to pull away, started to apologize, to tell him that it was all her fault, that it wasn't her intention at all--

--But then Knuckles arm caught her own gently, and he pulled her back against him. She didn't try to resist.

And across the street, Sonic glowered.

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_review._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: thanks for the positive response, everyone. keep those reviews coming ;)_

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For the first time since he could recall, Sonic found his confidence severely damaged.

The boquet of flowers (a light lavender, indicating his enchantment) had taken an equally harsh beating - though not for the same reasons. They drooped pathetically under the treatment of the harsh weather, and were only further hurt by Sonic's rigid, jerky movements as he turned away and stalked back where he came from.

He ducked around a corner, peeking out from the side to continue what was becoming a spy game. He watched as Knuckles lingered at the doorstep to Amy's apartment for a few minutes, and pondered the echidna's next plan of attack. Gratefully, the scarlet Guardian made no further advances; quite the contrary, actually, much to Sonic's relief. The hedgehog watched, now from a much safer distance, as the pair seemed flustered, although Knuckles considerably moreso. There was a smatter of awkward chitchat between them after the second kiss, while the two held themselves nervously. After a few seconds they dispersed - Amy retreated back into her apartment, and Knuckles quickly made his way back towards the street.

Sonic didn't know what to exactly make of the entire encounter. The subtle body gestures between them after the brush of lips led Sonic to believe that it had been an accident, but the fact that they had leaned in for a second helping had him wondering.

"Aww, jeez," he muttered under his breath, as the rain continued to pelt down upon him, causing his ears to lie flat on his head. He looked down to his boquet of purple roses, and to the leaves that had been crunched from his vice-like grip. He switched hands and swore.

Sonic debated his own next course of action. Flickers of ideas flashed in his head - to confront, or not to confront. He opted for a confrontation, but then another question came up: who? There were two sides to every story, and he was interested in finding out just what the two opinions were.

A kiss, after all, was really what defined a relationship. Earlier, Sonic had smoothly picked up flowers and donned unusual clothes with silken confidence. It had occured to him, especially then, that there really was no physical contact between the two 'love bugs'; it was part of the reason he had been so sure of his intent. Without physical attention, there was a sort of gap that lingered between couples; a space that seperated the two. It could have been the key Sonic held to win the pink hedgehog over; a kiss to seal the deal. But now...

But now, this could have ruined his carefully calculated plan. That is, unless the kiss had brought a realization of a different kind. Although a kiss could be the thing that caused couples to become inseperable, it could also be the thing to tear them tragically apart. It was there, that both sides realized that there was something serious developing - and from there, they could decide how they felt.

Sonic felt a kind of void in him that he had never felt before. He felt suddenly empty, and sluggish, as he continued to stare out into the rain towards Amy's door. He could always think optimistically, but for whatever reason, he had a horrible feeling that Lady Luck wasn't on his side tonight.

Defeated, he turned to go.

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Amy Rose was feeling a bit unusual.

Excitement was mixed with a sort of unsettled feeling in her stomach, creating an interesting combination. Initially, after closing the door she had done an excited twirl around the room, but after a few seconds the euphoria had subsided.

Her first kiss had been with.. Knuckles?

Since before Amy could remember, Sonic had been the only man for her. Until tonight, she couldn't even imagine her first kiss being with anyone other then him, but tonight's dinner had brought forth a surge of unforseen events.

The real question was: how did she feel?

Unfortunately, she couldn't quite determine from her own emotions. On one hand, she felt pleased - bubbly, even - while on the other hand, she felt a pang of.. regret?

The only thing she could possibly relate it to was the time one of her older friends spoke of the incident where she had been deflowered. She had been estatic that she had finally lost it, while at the same time she had been sad that it hadn't been done in a more romantic, memorable way.

Although it was a much more adult-oriented experience, Amy Rose couldn't help but note the resemblence.

The pink hedgehog made her way over to her bedroom, peeling of drenched article clothings as she did. After she pulled free the last of her restraints, she changed into her favorite pair of winter PJ's - a conservative white top and bottom dotted with red, lovely hearts.

Somehow, the hearts only seemed to further dampen her confused spirits.

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Knuckles stepped out of the doors of the elevator, listening to the faint swish as they closed behind them. He walked down the hallway, listening to the squishing sound of his water-infested shoes while fumbling his pockets for his keycard. He produced it after a few minutes of fishing (almost litterally, considering how damp he was), and slid it easily through the slot.

A green light flickered, signaling it was safe for him to open the door. He complied, pushing his shoulder into it - the cold temperature liked to make the hinges stick - and shoved his way inside.

He gave the door a little push for momentum to get it going, and then let it naturally fall back into its locked position. He then made his way past his little kitchenette area, past the living room, and headed straight for his bedroom.

Once inside, he shut _that_ door behind him and began the slow process of taking off his clothes. His white shirt was damp and tinged with red from his matted fur being pressed up hard against it. He pulled that off and simply threw it on the floor - no use trying to perserve it anyway, it was already wrinkled - and then took off his jacket and pants. He stripped all the way down to his socks, and then peeled those off too, before collapsing face-first onto the bed.

It was only there that he would let his thoughts consume him. What had he been thinking? Everything tonight had been a blur - from the ride there, to dinner and his little 'confession', and then to that incident back at her place. He felt a twinge of stupidity, as if there had been some horrible error in judgement and he was to blame. But who was to say Amy didn't iniate it? Did she like it? Was he a good kisser? Did _he _himself like it?

Knuckles wished he could say. Everything was so jumbled up and confused to him, presently - it was as if the whole world was teetering like a rollercoaster, and all he wanted was to get off.

He tried vaguely to collect his thoughts, but they danced around him playfully, mocking him. He didn't know _what _he felt, exactly, except distant.

"Did I make a mistake?" he mumbled, to no one in particular. Earlier tonight his feelings had become clear to him; he adored Amy Rose. But the kiss, he worried, seemed to have the opposite effect. It were as if the feelings had reversed itself.

Or was that because this was something new, something unfelt before? Was this awkward feeling not resentment, but possibly the hint of something more?

Knuckles sighed and shook his head, further smothering himself in his sheets. He just didn't know.

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Amy was rudely awaken by the sound of a telephone ringing. She blinked rapidly, rubbing one eye with a balled up fist as she reached for the phone and looked at the clock at the same time. Midnight. Hm. Who could it be?

She had more then an inkling. After tonight, who else would it be? Amy's heart raced at the thought. What did Knuckles want with her? Did he want to apologize, or did he want to deliver a midnight serenade, a profession of his undying love?

Amy didn't know how she felt about either thought. Her hand lingered over the telephone for a second as it continued its ringing. After the fourth ring, she finally picked up. "Hello?" she asked curiously, unsure of what to expect.

"Hey," the voice on the other end was most definitely _not _Knuckles. "Can we talk?"


	9. Chapter 9

i'm terrible, i know. finals and learning to drive sucks.

review :3

* * *

Amy Rose found herself out in the pouring rain, mustering up all the dignity she could. The soles of her slippers were soaked, and she sniffled several times, rubbing her shoulders to keep warm. After five minutes of continuous cold, she found that even her patience had limits, and they were being put to the test. It was only her utter bewilderment that kept from stomping back in back inside grumpily - that, and the fact that it was hard to say 'no' to her beloved hero when she was only two seconds awake. 

She should've had refused, she knew, as her drowsiness began to fade. She was supposed to be playing a role, and she wasn't sticking to the script - but she couldn't help that she had to improvise. Being startled out of sleep had left her dreamy, disoriented, and very compliant; she had easily agreed to Sonic and his terms to meet her outside at such an ungodly hour. Regardless, after waiting outside in silence this particular misty, damp, morning for more then two seconds left her incredibly irritable, and she hoped whatever Sonic had to say was worthy enough of her immediate attention... or else.

"Amy?"

She jumped, startled. She had been so lost in her cloudy, murderous thoughts, that she had neglected to pay attention to her surroundings. His sudden approach had been so abrupt that she lost her footing a little, sliding across slippery pavement before grappling for the railing and steadying herself. She heard his little gasp, and was dimly aware of wet gloves helping stable her after she had already gained her footing. Dizzyingly, she realized that, for once, Sonic had been initially too slow to save her.

"How long have you bin' out here?"

"Too long," she muttered. His grip on her was strong, firm, cold, and very unromantic. She gently eased pried his clenched fingers off of her shoulder. "What did you want to talk about?"

Sonic opened his mouth, and then faltered. He wore a muddled expression of nervous anxiety; a look that did not suit him. Concerned, Amy reached and placed what she hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder, completing forgetting her composure. "Sonic?"

"Sorry, sorry," Sonic said, seemingly snapping out of delirium. "Kinda got lost back there, ya know?" He laughed awkwardly and took a step back away from her, causing the physical link between them to be broken. Amy retracted her hand, slowly, and got her first real good look at him.

"Sonic.." Amy said slowly, eyes roaming over his body and taking him in. "Why are you wearing a dress suit?"

Amy was given the rare pleasure of seeing Sonic turn a bright pink. It was a full-body blush, staining across his cheeks and touching his ears and quills. Amy wasn't even aware Sonic possessed the right pigments to color in that manner, but was nevertheless delighted at the display. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to enjoy it. The slightly scarlet hedgehog reeled backwards away from her, a genuine look of horror on his face.

"Well.. uh.. I--" He sneezed spectacularly, and then quickly turned to go.

"Waiiit!" Her hand swung out wide to clasp him on the shoulder firmly. Sonic started against her and then relaxed, looking back at her slowly.

"Fine, I won't ask anymore unless you want to share, okay?" she said, trying to muster her most soothing tone of voice. "Why don't you come in? This cold isn't doing you any good, and it's nice and warm inside. Sound good?" She felt like a mother addressing a small child, small and scared and shy. Sonic nodded feebly.

"Yeah, sounds good," he mumbled, and she smiled, gently leading him back inside.

* * *

Somewhere around three AM, Knuckles the Echidna had given up on sleeping.

Rolling over onto his stomach for the umpteenth time, he heaved a dramatic sigh and pushed himself up on his shoulders. He stared out into the pitch black darkness of his hotel room, blinking a few times to get his tired eyes to adjust. As they slowly focused and readjusted to the night life, Knuckles pushed a few of his long, heavy dreads over his shoulder, and then cringed at how flamboyantly he did so.

"I've been hanging out with girls too much…" he grumbled, eyes slowly observing the room. He sat there on his elbows for a few moments, considering what to do. Get up, and make some coffee? (_Yeech_, Knuckles thought a moment later. _Maybe not coffee, but tea_.) Or lie there restlessly and try to catnap before the sun came up? Knuckles played with the idea in his mind for a bit. Although neither was particularly appealing – he didn't want to get up out of laziness, but he certainly didn't want to lay there, bored, for the rest of the night—until he came to a conclusion. Groaning in defeat, he got up on his knees, waddled over to the edge of the bed, and slid out.

Within a few minutes time, Knuckles was sitting at the small makeshift table of his kitchenette, spooning hot tea clumsily into his mouth, and wincing as it burned all the way down his throat.

"Hot," he muttered, ever the observer of the obvious. "And bitter." He looked vainly for some sugar, but he had no idea if the pantry here would carry it, and what kind of packaging it would have. His eyes drifted, calculating, when the answer came plainly to him: sitting on the table at his elbows were two shakers, one filled with some black stuff, and the other with what appeared to be white grit. _Eureka!_

Knuckles picked up the shaker, dumping a heartily amount into his tea. He took his tiny spoon and stirred it before adding a more before deciding it was a sufficient amount. Satisfied, Knuckles blew on it to cool it slightly, and brought it to his lips, taking a giant gulp—

--And promptly spit it back out.

"Argh!" Knuckles bellowed loudly, setting the cup down with a dramatic slam. Some of the hot tea sloshed out, handing on bare, gloveless hands. "Gods!" He yipped, snatching his throbbing digits back and stuffing them into his equally agitated mouth. "That was not sugar," he muttered in between tonguing aching fingers with his wet muscle.

When he felt as though his hands had recovered to a presentable degree, he grabbed the coffee cup and poured the remainder of the salt-contaminated concoction out into the sink, watching with satisfaction as it disappeared forever.

"Disgusting," he grunted, turning away from it in revulsion and settling back into his previously abandoned chair. For a long time he simply sat there in silence. It reminded him of his days back on the Floating Island, where his life had been lived in solitude… Before Robotnik, before Sonic, before the Chaotix.. back when Knuckles didn't know how to be social, barely knew how to speak.

It was strange to think of how barbaric Knuckles had lived compared tohow he was living now. It was weird not resting at the foot of the Master Emerald, tirelessly guarding the precious jewel. It felt strange not to be bombarded by duties, to be constantly on edge. Here he could get a decent night's sleep if he tried, with no worries at all – and maybe that was the problem. Frequently, he had found himself rolling out of bed and lying on the floor to sleep – the comforters were too soft, too warm; uncomfortable, because he wasn't used to it.

Knuckles had planned to return to the Island only after a week or two of vacationing, but he found himself lingering, and that was starting to bother him. He blamed it on his loneliness, his lack of social interaction – which was what had drove him to leave the Island and hit Station Square in the first place – but the fact on how attached he was becoming to this city was terrifying. Even more horrifying was that the root of the problem…

… Lied in the body of a particular pink hedgehog..

Knuckles sighed in defeat and stood. He picked up the phone in one hand, glancing at the clock, and then dialed Amy Rose. He had some things he needed to let her know.

She didn't answer.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Sorry guys, but I've been suffering from a complete lack of motivation lately. The onslaught of schoolwork hasn't helped. I'm back, anyway, at least for now. Here's the latest installment for Woman, which I worked pretty hard on. You know the drill - read, and review. :3_

* * *

Knuckles was started awake by the insistent ringing of his bedside phone.

"Nnn.." he groaned, groping wildly for the source of noise, face still buried into his pillow. Finally, his bulbous hands took hold of the handle, causing the infuriating noise to stop mid-ring. "What?"

"Good morning!" chirped the line. Amy Rose's voice was like candy ribbon. Knuckles grunted.

"I called you earlier," he said sleepily. Straddling the phone between his shoulder and the side of his face, he pushed himself up on his elbows. "Oh, really?" Amy said. She paused a moment, as if trying to recall. "I guess I missed it."

"Guess you did," he mumbled, pushing some of his unkempt dreadlocks from his face. He blinked a few times.

"Did you leave a message?"

"No." The conversation lapsed into silence. Knuckles, finally having gained some sense of study consciousness, sat up and swung his legs over the side of his hotel bed. He stared down down at his toes, wiggling them a few times. There was a slightly unpleasant, tingling sensation as the blood rushed into them. Amy Rose, he thought, seemed strangely distracted. "Why'd you call?"

"Why did YOU call?" Amy Rose mirrored, sounding curious.

"I..." Knuckles faltered, fumbling with his words. "I wanted to see how you were doing," he finished lamely.

"Oh..." Amy didn't believe him, and Knuckles didn't blame her. He didn't even believe himself. "Well, uhmm... I'm doing great, thanks."

"That's good," Knuckles found himself honestly at a loss of words. After having finally caught some semblence of sleep, his unexplainable urge to express his growing devotion for Amy had subsided - at least for now. He scratched the back of his head. "So uh, why did you call?" He felt it was safe to ask now.

"Oh!" His words brought the life back into Amy's cheerful voice. "I was wondering if you want to go to breakfast, sleepy face." She laughed a charming little laugh. "Or should I let you get some more beauty rest, hmmm?"

"The very thought is a threat to my masculinity," Knuckles said darkly. "No, I'm awake now. Where do you want to go?"

She gave him the name and address of some little diner in Station Square that Knuckles had never been to before. Knuckles nodded as she spoke, feeling stupid afterwards because he knew she couldn't see him. "Alright, sounds fine," he said, and couldn't help but yawn. "I need to find my shoes. When do you want to go?"

"Well..." she giggled, "there's no time better then the present."

"Sheesh, Amy," he growled. "Now you've got to make me rush."

* * *

Conversation at lunch had been light. Several times they had fell into silence, though Knuckles had the distinct instinct that Amy had something to say. He kept waiting patiently for her to speak, but she never did. Several times he found himself struggling to find topics of conversation himself, which was very unusual for him. Usually Amy was the talkative one.

He simply stared at her over his empty bowl of oatmeal. Amy had long since finished her omlet herself, and was simply staring back, a smile tugging on the verge of her pretty mouth. She looked him directly in the eye, and yet, seemed somehow far beyond it, looking into space. It made Knuckles slighly uncomfortable and wildly curious.

The check came, and Knuckles paid it without comment, despite the flurry of protests from the little pink hedgehog. It was the most she had said since he arrived. When he got his recipt and complimentry mint, Amy Rose made no noise that seemed to suggest she was ready to leave. Knuckles lingered, but he could take the silence no longer.

"So, what're you doing after this?" Knuckles inquired, searching desperately for a line of conversation that he could hook her with. Amy's lack of communication with him was very unsettling.

"I'm going shopping for clothes," she said predictably. If Knuckles had only learned one thing from his vacation in Station Square, it was that Amy loved to shop, and loved to do it constantly.

"So soon?" he said, smirking a little. "But didn't I just go shopping with you a few days ago."

"Well, yes, but those were for my summer clothes," Amy Rose explained. "I need an actual dinner dress for tonight."

"Oh?" Knuckles was surprised she hadn't informed him earlier. "Where are we going?"  
Amy Rose's smile broadened, but she did not eleborate. Instead, she moved to stand.

"C'mon, Knuxie," she said. "Let's take a walk."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found them making their way leisurely down the boardwalk at Emerald Beach. The sun was beginning to set high in the sky, beating down on them - even though it was still early on, Knuckles knew the day was going to be hotter than heck.

They milled past scores of families and happy couples, strolling in relative silence. Knuckles found his mind drifting, watching children run by in interest. As the last of his kind, he had never had a real childhood, nor probably had the ability to raise children of his own. Fleetingly he wondered what it was like to be apart of a family, or have a family of his own - and he looked towards the sky.

"Knuckles," Amy's voice brought him out of his stupor. He looked toward her. "I just wanted to thank you." And she kissed him.

The kiss was actually quite short, but to Knuckles it was a lifetime. Amy's mouth was lovely and soft, and so close to him she smelled distinctly of strawberries and suntan lotion. Her hand had settled on his wrist, the small gesture leaving him suddenly warm and flushed all over. Knuckles startled, eyes fluttering closed, but it was over as soon as it began and Amy Rose had pulled away, smiling.

Knuckles found himself breathing harshly, and all those feeling from the night before came back in a hurricane, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He stepped back, and then forward, trying to catch his balance. "Amy..."

"I just wanted to thank you," she said, her voice a half-whisper. Knuckles leaned in, captivated and enchanted. "You're everything I could have hoped for."

"Oh, yeah?" Knuckles asked, a little sheepish. He knew his cheeks were burning, but he was beyond the point of caring. He felt smug and shy and completely head over heels in adoration, all at the same time. "And.. how is that?"

Amy simply smiled, twirling away from him. Knuckles laughed and stepped forward after her as she spun out of his reach. Finally, she turned to face him again, face alight with joy. "It worked, Knuckles!" she said, laughing musically. "It worked! Sonic asked me out, and we're going to dinner tonight! I'm Sonic's girlfriend!"

Knuckles' heart shattered.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Sorry about the delay, guys! This was a pain to write._

_I'm going to take a moment of your time to promote another one of my recently submitted fics. Those of you who like_ Woman_ will probably like the_ Sheik of Araby_. It also focuses in on the idea of a SonicXAmyXKnuckles romance, but more... twisted._

_Admittedly, fluffy romance like that of _Woman_ isn't really my forte. _Sheik_ serves a vessel to play out the more devious and dark romances. While Knuckles is something of the sheepish quasi-protagonist in this fic, he is more of a shrewd, wild, and devilishly clever anatagonist in_ Sheik_. In my opinion, it makes him a lot sexier :3 Anyway, I would really use the support on _Sheik_, since, in my opinion, it's already on its way with being a better story. Regardless, however, I'd like to thank you all for your overwhelming response to _Woman_, which I would have never anticipated._

_Anyway. You know the drill. Read, review, whatever. On with the story!_

* * *

"Well." Knuckles stood on the steps just in front of the hotel lobby, looking uncomfortably at Amy Rose down on the sidewalk. He had offered to walk her home, but she had vehemently refused his offer. The entire duration back to his place had been done in suffocating silence.

Amy was looking up at him with a little unhappy frown. "Well," she mirrored when it was apparent he had fallen mute once again. "I'll be seeing you later, then?"

Knuckles swallowed. "Sure, sounds good." He visibly hesitated, and then lifted his hand into a half-wave. "I'll... see you later then." He turned around and promptly dissapeared inside without a second glance.

Amy found herself lingering at the steps, wondering if she should have followed him. Knuckles had seemed unusually preoccupied since Amy's earlier revelation. Now that the whole ordeal was over, he was probably thinking about getting back to his island.

A pity. Amy was really beginning to enjoy his company.

* * *

Knuckles pulled back the curtain to the bathtub, stepping gingerly inside. Immediately his backside was hit with hot, almost painful sheets of water, casading down from the showerhead above. Pulling the curtain back across, the small enclove gratifyingly began to fill with steam, taking the edge off of mental anguish.

The heat reminded him of the hot springs he used to frequent on lazy days back on the Island. Knuckles pressed his head against the tile along the opposite wall, taking deep breaths as he allowed the water to soak him. The thought of his Island, which had been previously forgotten these past few weeks, brought such a sudden pang of homesickness that it startled him. Knuckles let his eyes flutter closed. Strange, how it could all come crashing down in an instant like that. Then again, Knuckles wasn't known for being the most observant of creatures. He should have known this was coming from the start - it was Amy's aim from the beginning. Yet even still, knowing that, it hurt.

* * *

Several hours later found Amy Rose unlocking the door to her apartment, duffle bag swung over one slender shoulder. She stepped inside, giving a deep sigh of relief as a bitter cold from her air conditioner hit her full on in the face. Outside it had been blazing hot, and her workout at the gym left her sweating and miserable. Inside, however, it might as well have been a winter wonderland.

Even still, Amy Rose found her appreciation already waning. Shutting the door quietly behind her she made her way deeper inside of her home, stopping by her bedroom and dropping off her bag full of gym clothes along the way. The pink hedgehog made her way into the kitchen and rummaged the fridge. She pulled out a Coke, thought better of it, and then opted for a Diet instead.

Amy Rose took a gratifying sip, looking at the built-in clock on her stove. It was already five o' clock, and her date with Sonic was at eight. "I should probably be getting ready soon," she murmured, inbetween sips. Unusually preouppied, she set her drink down and wandered off toward her bathroom.

* * *

Knuckles was sitting upside down in the solitary easy-chair that was in his bedroom. His head was pressed against the plush carpetting, each leg thrown over a respective arm of the chair, looking like a bizarre figurine statue. His eyes were focused in on the upside down picture flickering off of the TV, making an unearthly glow across his face. Although seemingly captivated, Knuckles' mind was elsewhere. He was considering paying off his hotel bill and packing up, heading back toward the island. He could easily ask Tails to give him a lift back to his home - the two-tailed wonder pup was always more then eager to show off his flying skills. Even with that option so readily available, however, Knuckles was hesitant. It wasn't like him to leave things unfinished.

His eyes were lazily trained upon the television, not really listening to the talk host on it that was giving advice on some topic or another. He found his gaze wandering toward where his bedside clock was - 7:15. Amy Rose was probably already on her date with Sonic.

Knuckles sighed heavily.

* * *

Amy Rose glanced at her watch and sighed.

The pink hedgehog tapped her foot impatiently, arms folded across her bust. How long could it take Sonic to pick her up? It wasn't like he didn't know where it was; and it wasn't like he iwasn't/i the fastest hedgehog alive. That man had some nerve!  
Amy Rose glanced at one at her reflection in the window. An unhappy little pink hedgehog frowned back at her, completely decked out in her best evening wear. She had spared no expense in picking out attire aimed to express her usually distracted date. Which, speaking of distracted, was so preoccupied that he was now a half an hour late!

Maybe Sonic meant for her to _meet _him there? Amy Rose chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. Maybe he thought _she_ had stood him up? Her worried expression gave way to an angry one. Regardless if that was the case, it would only take him half a second to zip down to her house to see what was up!

Amy jumped when the telephone rang. Recovering, she ran over to fetch it as best as she could in high heels. Fumbling with the reciever, she nearly knocked a tooth out when she forced it against the side of her face. "Yes?"

"Heyyy! Amy!" came Sonic's too-cheerful voice. The pink hedgehog grunted. "I'm gonna--"

"Don't tell me you're not coming!" Amy exclaimed, surprised at the whine of her own voice. She covered her mouth, but it was obvious her dissapoint came across loud and clear.

"I'm going to be a little late," Sonic clarified.

"Our reservation is for 7:20. You're already a little late!"

"I _know_," Sonic insisted. "Trust me, I'll make it up to ya. Okay?"

"Soni--"

But he had already hung up.

* * *

"Give me two scoops of double fudge on a waffle cone."

Money was exchanged, and Knuckles had to use both hands to hold his icecream cone steady as it was passed over. He immediately licked the top of it, moving to turn away. "Hey Knuckles," came the voice of the man at the counter. "Where's your friend, tonight?"

Knuckles ignored him and pushed his way back outside.

* * *

Amy Rose sat along the arm of her couch, legs swinging impatiently across the carpet. It was nearly eight o' clock and there was still no sign of that stupid moron. Amy played with the idea of calling up Knuckles, just to take her mind off of Sonic's absence. The echidna always brought out the best of her moods. But she dismissed it after a second thought, deciding she didn't want to answer questions, even if it was in reference to her favorite topic of conversation: her beloved. Well, actually, Knuckles was pretty good about not probing. Maybe she SHOULD give a ring, after all.

It didn't matter anyway. As Amy got up to fetch the phone from the kitchen, the door bell rang, startling her. Amy pivoted on one spiked heel, making a beeline back towards the door. She opened it up, finding herself face-to-face to a stylishly attired Sonic.

"Hey," he said, smiling almost shyly. He handed her a fantastic boquet of roses, thornless and wrapped in a scarlet ribbon. Seeing Amy's completely floored expression, he took the opportunity to lean and kiss her with surprising tenderness. "Sorry I'm late."

Amy swooned. Suddenly, everything was right in the world again.


	12. Chapter 12

**keem: **i know, i suck at updates. but the inspiration for this story hits me at odd times. i don't know _where_ this chapter came from, honestly. it must've come out of feeling bad for not updating, most likely. i was all motivated to do a buttload of ffix fan fics starring my favorite villain evarrrrr, kuja. i've only done poor renditions of him in the past, so i figured he used a proper story, which i hope to accomplish in my new lovechild, 'almost human.' 3 /shameless plug

anyway, again, i'm really sorry about the lack of updates. despite the fact that it's summer, i'm working now, thus taking up a lot of my schedule. inbetween that, an uncessary PE class, and sleeping, i've been dabbling in my own original novel, among snippets of playing the final fantasy series. ;; sorrryyyy. but regardless, here is the fic for your viewing pleasure! read, review, enjoy, and all that good stuff. as for when the ending is coming, hopefully soon. i'm running out of ideas here, andplaying with the not-yet-finalizedidea of 'WHO IS GOING TO GET THE GIRL?' thoroughly frustrates me. i love you guys.

---

"Heeeey! Knuckles!" Amy Rose called out, waving both arms enthuastically to gather the echidna's attention from across the street. When he didn't look up, she took a deep breath and bellowed humorously, "HELLO THERE, GOOD SIR."

The echidna halted, finally catching notice. Breaking out in a winning smile, Amy looked both ways before making a break across the street. Knuckles, however, looked ill at the sight of her enthusiasm.

"You weren't ignoring me, were you?" she said with a wink. He grunted in response, and she realized he had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in a while. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm a little out of it."

"I can tell," Amy said, frowning thoughtfully. One finger reached out to brush the side of his face where the bags where. Knuckles twitched and she smiled, looking down and catching sight of a takeout bag clutched securely in one large hand.

"Fast food?" she said, shaking her head and poking him playfully in the gut. "No wonder you look so terrible! That stuff isn't good for you, you know." She was clad in gym shorts today and a tank top, walkman strapped tightly to her hip. His sickly apperance in comparision to her athletic physique made a unique contrast.

Fortunately, Knuckles wasn't too under the weather to gather traces of amusement. "Really?" he murmured. "Since when did you become so obsessed with your health?" He was, of course, referring to her constant indulgence in sweets - breaking the rules of a diet she had always claimed she was on, but never made any progress with. Not that she needed to.

"Since I started working out," she informed, sticking out her tongue playfully at him. "I've got to look good from now on!"

Knuckles grimaced, but she didn't seem to notice. "So!" she said, desperately pulling at strings of conversation. Whenever there was a lull between them she always felt awkward. "What have you been doing lately? I haven't seen you in..." she counted off the fingers unncessarily. "..Two days now. I stopped by yesterday but you weren't even there! Were you visiting a ladyfriend or something? Hmm!"

"No.. I was busy trying to get in contact with my associates back at the Island." By 'associates' Amy presumed he was talking about the Chaotix. Knuckles had told her briefly during one of their outtings that the Chaotix were some friends who did the occasional favor for him after the whole Carnival Island fiasco. It was one adventure concerning Metallix that Sonic hadn't been there for. "I'll be going home soon."

"Soon?" Amy was honestly dissapointed. She had gotten so used to seeing Knuckles around constantly, even if she hadn't succesfully dropped by recently to socialize. He would definitely be missed. "How soon..?"

"Soon," was all he said, and he looked toward the sky. He seemed wistful, surrounded in the yellow-orange clouds of the afternoon. The day was lazy and hot, but it was starting to cool down as the evening wore on. "Whenever the wind changes so they can bring the Island back in this direction to pick me up."

"Oh." Amy chewed her lip. "Well, you'll visit me sometimes... right?" She paused and looked worriedly up at him, as if almost afraid of the answer.

Knuckles took a long time to respond. "... Sure."

"Whew! That's a relief then." Amy Rose dramatically wiped away an imaginary bead of fat sweat. "We have to hang out before you leave, you know what I mean?"

Knuckles was noticeably dodgey, and blatantly averting his eyes from his face. Instead he seemed to drink up the sky, lost in it. "... We'll see."

"Uhm.. well, I guess I'll let you get back to what you were doing then." Amy Rose got the distinct impression Knuckles wanted some 'alone' time. He must have been terribly homesick and had a lot of things on his mind, which the petite hedgehog could understand. "Keep in touch, okay?"

"Right." Then suddenly, unexpectedly.. "I didn't get the chance to ask earlier. How was your date with Sonic?"

Amy was sent somewhere far away and beautiful, captivated by her flowery memories. She tried to keep it out of her voice, but there was no mistaking that dreamy quality. "It was..." her words fumbled for something articulate and sophisticated and grown-up. "... Spectacular."

"Mm. I'll see you later, Amy." Knuckles turned away abruptlyand made his way down the street, back toward the Station Square Hotel. And Amy watched him go.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: And so, it continues... over seventeen months later. Err, sorry guys, I suck. You wouldn't believe what's going on in my life if I told you. The good news is, I might be getting married! The bad news is... I might be getting married! Haha. Anyway, you know the drill. Read and review, blahblah, cornbread: ain't nothing wrong with that._

_THIS IS ENDING SOON. I promise. I'll try not to wait over a year and a half before deciding I should wrap it up. hahaZiNG._

What Amy didn't know was that Knuckles had lied. He hadn't gotten in touch with the guys back at the island at all; he had spent the last two days moping, thinking about Amy and how he had gotten royally screwed over.

But what did he expect? Knuckles kicked the hotel door shut behind him, making a beeline for the bed. He knew what he was in for from the get-go. It had been all a lavish scheme to con Sonic into dating her; he knew that. It wasn't as if she hidden it from him.

Gods, he was so stupid! What did he think would happen? He had been foolish to think that Amy would fall for him, when his heart was clearly in a different place. She was so wrapped up in achieving her unattainable guy - the guy she had worshipped for years, in fact - that she couldn't seen two feet in front of her. And here Knuckles was, letting himself get wrapped up into this mess. He shouldn't have let himself get so deeply, so intimately involved. But the last thing he expected was to fall in love with The Rose.

In the beginning, he had found her abrasive, annoying - repulsive, even. He found her cheery attitude incredibly fake. Her affection for Sonic had also been a point against her. But Knuckles had been lonely, and he didn't really know anyone in Station Square, and when she told him of the plan devised to win Sonic over, he figured he might as well. Anything that could put the hog in a foul mood can't be that big of a waste of time in his book.

And yet here he was, lovesick over Amy Rose. Knuckles picked up the phone on the bedside table, dialed the front desk, and had them transfer it to the communcation line he had set up for his home back in the sky.

"Yo. This is the Floating Island Hotel and Resort. How can I help you?"

"Vector," Knuckles said, through gritted teeth. "Don't play games with me."

"Jeez, Red," came the crocodile's reply. "I was just joking with you. What's up? And oh hey, did you know that a rift between worlds opened up over here and we discovered a lost city of echidnas? They're swarmin' all over the island, now."

Knuckles nearly had a panic attack. "What?!"

"Just yankin' yer tail, man, yeesh. You just don't understand the concept of 'humor'. We still love you, though. I guess."

"... Thanks. Anyway, Vector, I'm done with vacationing down here. So can you bring the Island over in this region ASAP and set the Master Emerald back so I can teleport back home."

"Sure man," Vector said. There was a pause, as if working on something. "Alright, we're en route to the Mystic Ruins now. Give me two days. You want me to get in contact with this number?"

"Yeah."

"Aiight then. Well..." Knuckles could almost hear the smile. "Did you have fun? Make any new friends?"

"It was alright," Knuckles dismissed. "Thanks for asking, Dad."

"You're welcome, sweetie," Vector said wryly. "Anyway, I'll letcha go. Catch you in a few days, aiight? Lates, man."

"Later."

---

"I talked to Knuckles today," Amy said over dinner, to Sonic. They were at one of Station Square's hottest resteraunts, famous for its pasta. Amy Rose had to use all of her self-restraint not to gorge. Oh, how she loved to pasta.

Sonic lifted both his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Yeah. He told me he's going back to his Island soon," she sighed. "I'm kinda sad. I really enjoyed hanging out with him these past few weeks." Earlier she had confided in Sonic about the scam she had devised with Knuckles to win him over. Sonic had laughed and told her, well, it worked.

"Mm," Sonic said, chewing on a meatball. "I'm not surprised he's going."

Amy blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Because the little charade is over," Sonic said, offering a wry smile. "You guys aren't pretending to be dating anymore."

Amy shrugged, oblivious. "So?"

Sonic fixed her with a curious look. "Don't you get it, Ames?" She looked at him strangely and he nearly choked. "You don't!"

"Don't what?" Amy's voice rose with concern.

"He was in love with you, Amy," Sonic said, incredulously. "He was head over heels for you. That's what made your thing so convincing, especially in the end. He adores you."

"What?" i Oh no, oh no... /i 

"You heard me." Sonic laughed. "I can't believe you didn't notice. Tha's really somethin', Amy."

i Oh gods, /i Amy thought, i I've probably ruined him. I've made a horrible mistake. /i 

".. Amy?" Sonic asked her curiously, but her mind was a thousand miles else where. He waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello?"

"Sorry, Sonic," she snapped out of her reverie, abruptly getting to her feet. "I've got to talk to him. .. Here," she started handing him a couple of twenties from her purse. "For my half. I'm really sorry, but we'll have to finish this another time." She hurriedly made her way past the waiters and waitresses, bustling for the exit.

i Knuckles, /i she thought, her mind racing. i I'm so sorry. /i 


	14. Chapter 14

_And so finally, we have it!: the last chapter. Please read and review. _

"Knuckles!" came a violent pounding at the door. The red echidna was shaken out of his reverie, which largely involved him staring at the wall directly across the bed he was sitting on, completely devoid of emotion.

"W-who is it?" he asked, and his voice was rough for not having spoken so long. It was a stupid question, as there was only one person it could be.

"You know who it is," the voice answered tartly, and Knuckles couldn't help but give a wan smile, despite himself. He pulled himself up from the comforters and ambled out into the hall. He caught his reflection in one of the mirrors that adorned the wall and stopped for a moment. He contemplated his rumpled figure, and tried to compose himself. He knew what this was going to be about, and it he took a moment to decide whether or not to re-think what he was about to say. He knew he was about to tread in very dangerous, murky waters. But even after second thoughts, he was resolute.

"What the heck is taking so long?" said Amy crossly, and he could hear her tapping one of her shoes, very Sonic-eque. Surprisingly, the thought of his on-again, off-again rival didn't bring the same sick feeling he had gotten the last hundred times the hedgehog came up in thought and dreaming. "Are you indecent or something?"

"Amy," Knuckles said slowly and blandly as he finally unlocked the door and swung it open with one enormous, barbed fist. The light illuminated him from behind as it came streaming out into the cooridor in which she was standing in, giving him a gold-and-red silhoutte. "My entire body is covered in coarse hair. What could be possibly be showing?"

"Hey, I know that your pee has to come out of SOMEWHERE," she teased back, a little more tersely than she would have liked. Her voice was brave and steady, but her cheeks flushed with the notion of the echidna's nakedness.

"It comes out of my butt." He did not smile, nor move out of the doorway.

"How coincidental. That's where mine comes from, too." She could copy his expression perfectly.

"I am astonished that your vocabularly is expansive enough to include coincidental."

"Shush, you. I actually WENT to grade school. Meanwhile, you were running around like the little heathen he-child you are in the jungle or something. Can you even read?"

"I taught myself, thank you very much," Knuckles said, and he leaned against the doorfame, looking very bored. "So what brings you here at this time of night, Miss Rose?"

"Can we stop this for a second and act.. uh, normal?" Amy demanded suddenly, changing the atmosphere of the conversation entirely. "I want to talk to you. Can I come inside?"

Knuckles seemed to debate whether the suggestion was a good idea. Then he shrugged and turned away from the door, which Amy caught before it could catch HER in the face. She took it as the closest thing as an invitation that she was going to get, and quickly stumbled after him.

"Please, sit," Knuckles gestured to the sofa. Amy smiled, her expression softening, and took a seat. Instead of settling down beside her, however, he deliberately took the love sofa across from her. Amy's expression melted away into one of confusion, and mild annoyance.

"Are you trying to put a barrier up between you and me?" she demanded. "Because I hurt your feelings? Because you-never-told-me?" She said the last part very loud and fast, her skin flushing further.

Knuckles, momentairly, seemed alarmed. Then that gave way to relief, looking pleased that she instigated it so that he wouldn't have to be bold enough to bring it up himself. "Never TOLD you? Please. You must have caught on sooner or later that the whole thing wasn't a big charade like you liked to pretend it was. The kiss? At your house? Wasn't that indication enough? Are you so daft that I have to SPELL it out for you?"

"Oh, so I'm dumb, am I?" she scowled at him, her eyebrows furrowed in something that vaguely resembled dislike. The look did not suit the pink hedgehog at all. "Well if I'm dumb then, how did such a sophisticated animal like yourself fall - fall for -" It was at this moment she looked as though she might very like to cry.

"Amy!" Knuckles said quickly, and his hand flew as though to physically stop her. She flinched very violently at the sight of his barbed knuckles, as though he might strike her. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a butthead and start a figh--"

"You're right, I'm sorry!" she cried desperately, and she wringed her hands in front of her futilely. "I was stupid... I-I shouldn't h-h-have used you; I shouldn't have toyed with your emotions like that for such... such selfish and s-STUPID r-r-r-reasons." The tears began to gently fall, casading over the curve of her cheek and down and off the tip of her nose.

"Amy! Amy!" Knuckles said, near-frantic at the sight of watching his friend dissolve into tears. He got up from his seat across from her and came over on his knees before. He gathered her hands, now twisting in her lap, and gathered them into his own, much larger ones. "Don't cry, Amy, it's not your fault. I was just being a jerk, and there was no excuse for me flying off the handle like that."

"It's fine," Amy said, dabbing away the tears with the hem of her dress. Knuckles deliberately avoided looking at her exposed legs before she dropped the skirt back down aagin. He was looking at her, very concerned. "Really. It's okay." She added, more reassuring now that she didn't sound so shaky. "Anyway, I've given it a lot of thought and--"

"No."

Amy looked up with a complete lack of understanding. She looked at him a moment, saw his furrowed brow, and started again. "What I'm trying to say is that maybe I jumped into things with Sonic, and maybe he shouldn't be the person I'm so desperately seeking to find happiness, maybe the source of REAL happiness is staring me right in the--"

"Amy, no."

"Knuckles--"

"No, Amy, listen to me." Amy looked down at him, and waited. The echidna took a deep breath, and then he spoke, although his voice wasn't as steady as before. Suddenly he looked very, very tired. "I've been giving it a lot of thought also, and I've come to the conclusion that.. no, we shouldn't be together."

"..But.. I don't get it..."

"Listen, practically all of your life you've been striving to get Sonic's attention. Now that you've gotten him; now that you've reached your seemingly unattainable goal, who am I to stand in the way? THAT would be stupid and selfish."

"But.. maybe I've realized... that we're the better match? That I adore you, everything about you--"

"Amy," Knuckles shook his head. "You have.. no idea, how much I wanted you to say this before. But I'm really, REALLY glad you didn't."

"I can't believe that you would say that," Amy said, and her lower lip trembled threateningly, once again brought to the edge of tears.

"I'm not saying that because I don't WANT you," Knuckles said, and he winced at his choice of words. He stood up and moved so that he could sit beside her on the couch. Awkwardly, but lovingly, he placed one muscular arm and draped it around her shoulder. "I want to be with you a lot, Amy, it's... weird, really." He looked away, a little embarassed, but did not move his arm. "My whole life has been about being independent, striving to be self-sufficient. I do my job, and live my life - alone."

"But you didn't CHOOSE that life, Knuckles!" Amy protested, sniffling. "It was forced upon you. You were made to live a life of soltitude - your parents.. they.. they abandoned you?"

"I don't know what the story is," Knuckles said, and finally he could return his gaze to her. "But that's not the point. The point is that we couldn't work... at least not now. And probably not.. ever."

"But... why?"

"Because we are from two different worlds. We're two different people. Two different SPECIES. Look at me, Amy. I'm... I'm a monster." He stared down at the back of his hands, at the barbed ends that jutted out so violently. "I don't think you realize how careful I have to be. I could... I could really HURT you, without even trying."

"You've been careful," Amy defended quietly. "And I can be careful too. I mean, I'm not going to say we should take up boxing together." She gave a futile, and very fake sounding, laugh.

"It wouldn't work, Amy. I've come to realize this. I have duties.. as a Guardian.. I can't stay here, and I can't expect you to come back to the Island with me. It wouldn't be fair to you, Amy; you're a very social creature, and your entire LIFE is here."

"I don't mind rural areas," she said feebly, and Knuckles smiled sadly at her.

"Not to mention, I'm not very well socialized. Look at how much trouble I have with communication, let alone touching? I can't ever see myself... well, y'know..." Here he seemed to get really uncomfortable, and had to look away again. "...I just don't ever see myself ever being able to give you the things you may want.. or need..."

This time Amy pulled away from him, glowering. "Just what kind of girl do you think I am, anyway?"

"I'm not insinuating anything," Knuckles explained, closing his eyes. "But you know.. those things come with a relationship... at least eventually. But I.. I don't know if I'm capable like that. It will take me YEARS to get to that point, if I'm ever able."

"Anyway, it's not that I'm trying to deter you forever, I'm just saying - you've got what you want so... live your life," he finished lamely, and he moved to stand. Amy let him, eyes following him doggedly. "You've found your shining star; don't let me take your happiness away. I've still got some.. filling out to do... at least emotionally and psychologically, you know?"

"...We can still be friends though, right?" Amy asked quietly, finally giving way to failure. Her entire figure hunched over in a way that clearly stated defeat. Knuckles felt deeply sorry for her - and for himself.

"Of course, Amy. I may be stupid, but I'm not crazy." He offered her his hand, and she took it. Her grip was not strong, but he enclosed his fist around her and pulled her suddenly into a delicate embrace. "I'm not a lost cause, Amy," he whispered into her brilliant pink quills. "I just want you to give your shining star a shot before you blow everything to heck just to take a chance on some retard echidna who can barely tie his own shoes."

"Your shoes don't have laces," Amy said blandly.

"And there's a reason for that, you see now?" he whispered conspiratorily, and she gave him a small smile.

"Crisis averted!" she said, a little more brightly.

"Give me a ring in a few years if things don't work out with you and Sonic, okay?" he said, getting a little pink in the cheeks. "And you know... you've exhausted all of your other available options."

"Stop downplaying yourself, Knuckles," Amy said, giving him a little push. She could hardly move mountains but he gave an exaggerated stumble, just to humor her. "You're quite the catch; you just don't know it yet."

"That push you administered with such mighty force has caused me to stumble my already delicate knee bone," he cried, in mock-alarm. "I have been mortally wounded!"

"Psh, shattered knee? More like temporarily handicapped."

"Mortally wounded, Amy," he said, fixing her with an evil eye. "MORTALLY. WOUNDED."

"You're a freak," she said, in her own parody of disgust, and turned away with dramatic flourish. "I can no longer stand to be within your despicable company. Walk me out the front."

"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." And he showed her out to the front. As she eclipsed the doorway she turned abruptly to face him, and reached out to touch his arm. "Knuckles," she said, suddenly serious. "Can I have one last kiss...?"

"Sorry, Amy," Knuckles said, although he looked like he dearly wanted to. "I can't." And they parted ways.

---

Less than fourty-eight hours later, Knuckles was back on the Floating Island, catching up with the Chaotix on what had happened in his absence. He re-assumed his position as Guardian of the Floating island, demoting his friends to lowly lackies once again. (They complained loudly for being just stand-in's whenever Knux wanted a break to pick up on some hot Station Square babes.) He offered to duel anyone who wanted to jockey for position as Guardian, and Vector accepted, mostly kidding himself. They had a throw-down, and Knuckles was (of course) proclaimed the victor. And all was normal, and grand, and the Island was quiet and peaceful, and his heart was turbulent but he ignored it. And so it went on.

Amy, meanwhile, pursued what ended up being a long-lasting relationship with Sonic. He could be a bit of a butthead, but she adored him anyway. And overwhelming everyone's irony sensors, he seemed to adore her even MORE. And so that went on, for a very long time, and she managed to force back her feelings for Knuckles and even forget about them for a while.

Two years later Knuckles was jostled out of slumber by Espio, who was peering into his face with his luminous, bright eyes. Judging by the lightening of the sky, it fast approaching dawn.

"Sorry, boss," Espio said, and he seemed apologetic. "But you've got a call on the radio. Some friend of your's, from the mainland."

"Man, if it's Sonic asking for me to bail him out again with some jam he's gotten himself into with Robotnik, tell him to forget about it," Knuckles said irritably, waving him over as he flipped himself over on his side to resume sleeping.

"No, it's not Sonic. It was some girl... uh.. I forget her name... Alisha? Amanda?"

"Amy?" Knuckles said, feeling the hair on the back of his neck prickle in excitement and dread. "Amy Rose?"

"That's the one." Espio said, nodding, as recogonition dawned upon him. "You want me to tell her you'll call back at a more reasonable hour?" He was already turning away, ready to relay the mesage.

"Actually," came Knuckles' voice, sounding far more awake now. Espio turned back to see the echidna swing into the upright position, ready to slip on his shoes. "No need to tell her off, Espio. I think I'm going to take that call."

_Thanks to all my wonderful, amazing readers. Also, thanks to Matt, my beta-reader for the first few chapters before he turned into a meanie butt-head and stopped reading them altogether just to spite me. Thanks also to all of you who stayed with me; who pestered and bugged me through the years to just finish this thing off already. Even if you're not a SonAmy shipper, or not a Knuxamy shipper, or you think this story is totally whack and jumped all over the place, I hope this can appease a little of everyone, and take away the fact that it took me like THREE YEARS TO FINISH THE STUPID THING. Thank you, thank you so very much._


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